DPD Chief Jason Parker (left) stands with new officers Evan Driskill (center) and Paul Ledford (right) during Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission.
The Dalton Police Department’s two newest hands are now officially officers within the ranks thanks to their unanimous confirmation Tuesday by the Public Safety Commission. Officers Evan Driskill and Paul Ledford both graduated from the police academy in Cherokee County, Ga., earlier this month.
Officer Ledford is a new officer but not a new employee of the city of Dalton. Since 2003 he has worked with the city’s Public Works Department before transferring to the DPD in March and attending the police academy. He is also a veteran of the United State Marine Corps. He graduated from Fulton High School in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1991.
Officer Driskill comes to Dalton from the state of Kentucky with a stop in Chattanooga along the way. He graduated high school in Graves County, Kentucky in 2011 and received his associate’s degree in criminal justice from Chattanooga State in May 2014. He is continuing his studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in addition to beginning his duties with the Dalton Police Department.
Both officers have already embarked on the DPD’s field training program in which they ride with experienced officers during a probationary period. Both officers had their hiring and appointment as officers confirmed by unanimous 4-0 votes of the Public Safety Commission (Commissioner Carlos Calderin did not attend Tuesday morning’s meeting).