For the first time since the college began, Campus Public Safety had a badge pinning ceremony for new officers. The four officers who received their badges at the April 11 event were Adam Neider, Don Doughty, Brian Hamlin, and Chris Schiller.

Seth Elliot, Central Oregon Community College’s Campus Public Safety supervisor, started the event by recognizing the time and effort devoted to the department by the officers.

“There are many changes to policy and training in our field,” Eliot said. “Our officers have to translate that into action every day. They don’t do that because they have to or because COCC has to … they do that because they want to do this profession.”

COCC president Jim Middleton recognized the officers as students’ “first contact” when coming to the campus.

“It is not security or the police force; its public safety … its really not just student safety but beyond into public safety,” Middleton said. “[CPS] officers represent what this campus is.”

The badges CPS officers wear are a “commitment to the campus, community and continual development,” Middleton said.

The badge pinning ceremony was the culmination of hundreds of hours of training and successfully passing of all that training, according to Jim Bennett, Campus Public Safety coordinator.

Molly Svendsen | The Broadside
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