The Campbell County Police Department welcomed a new member and promoted two familiar faces on Wednesday.
Paul Wagner was sworn in as an officer during the Campbell County Fiscal Court meeting, and Officer Jake Daley was promoted to sergeant after a vacancy was left by Sergeant Chris Lauer being promoted to captain.
Wagner completed the police academy last week, a process that Campbell County Police Chief Craig Sorrell said took six months to get in, followed by approximately 20-plus months in the academy.
“It takes more than a year from the day we hire somebody to get them out on the road by themselves,” Sorrell said.
Daley was promoted to sergeant after being with the department since 2014. He was named Officer of the Year at a February fiscal court meeting. His promotion was to fill the vacancy left by Lauer, who was promoted to captain during the meeting.
“When it comes right down to it, if you’d have an excellent culture and atmosphere if you’ve attracted good people to the workplace, and when you’re doing difficult and dangerous work, as our men and women are those who are promoted, have a solemn responsibility to look after the needs not only the citizenry but other people within the department,” Campbell County Judge Executive Steve Pendery said.
Sorrell said Lauer has been a patrol supervisor for a long time and is also the department’s team leader for the Northern Kentucky SWAT team. Lauer has been with the department since 2013.
“We are proud of the accomplishments of the people who ultimately have been promoted in this circumstance,” Pendery said. “They have a lot to be proud of themselves, and we want to offer our congratulations to our new recruit, our new sergeant, and our new captain. You are first among equals, and that’s a pretty impressive place to be.”