Independence Mayor Christopher Reinersman administered the oath of office Monday night to Cole O’Brien, who was recently hired as a police officer. His family looked on proudly, including his dad, Scott, who had served as an officer in Taylor Mill and Dayton, as well as with Homeland Security.
“Cole’s mother Andrea served on the EMS team in Elsmere, so he knows what the first responder life is like, since his mom and his dad have been first responders, ” said Chief Tony Lucas. “Cole is one of four new recruits who will be going to the police academy in October.”
Lucas also presented Adam Strine with a certificate announcing that he has been promoted to detective.
“Officer Strine had shown interest in becoming a detective,” Lucas said. “So he has been a detective for the last four months, and since he has been doing a great job, we officially moved him into the rank of detective. He is one of three detectives we have in the department.”
Lucas said the city has made offers to four more officers who will transfer laterally from other departments, so they will be able to start working without having to go to the police academy. Chris Huhn is one of the officers, and he had worked for Independence in the past, transferred to Kenton County and now will be coming back to Independence.
“Last night council finalized the update of the pay classification, and that has really helped us to attract officers,” Lucas said. “Once we knew we had the pay classification back in line, we were able to have a package deal that attracted other officers to come to the city. So in October, we will be blessed with a full force.”
