Officer Caleb Mitchell named Officer of the Year in Morris

The Morris Police Department has gotten a lot younger in recent years, and Police Chief Alicia Steffes said Officer Caleb Mitchell has grown a lot in that time.

Steffes named Mitchell Officer of the Year during Monday night’s City Council meeting.

In his time with the Morris Police Department, Mitchell needed to become a trainer and mentor. From there, he became the department’s certified firearms instructor, rifle instructor, control deck instructor and rapid response instructor. He also recently got certified as a field training officer.

“He’s taken that responsibility to train very seriously, and really stepped up his growth in the last year,” Steffes said. “We feel like, at this point in our department, that’s what we needed.”

Steffes also announced Officers Sarah Markusic and Ryan Ties as honorable mentions, both of whom also won one of three Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists awards. Officers Trevor Hodge and Nick Pampinella also won Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists awards.

Two new Morris Police Department Officers also received their introductions Monday night.

Officers Jose Alejandro Hernandez, or Alex as his coworkers call him and Nicholas Mazzone swore their oaths in front of Mayor Chris Brown.