Perry’s newest police officer has been working the streets for nearly two weeks now.  Ankeny native Taylor Rittman says it was a friend who worked at the Dallas County jail that told him about the position but it was the application process that made him want to work here.

“What really sparked my interest in this community, and the department in general, was when I came up here for the interview, they were so welcoming, so warming, a small, tight knit department was something I wanted to be a part of.  I didn’t want to be in a department where you’re just another officer, you know, I wanted to be part of a family and that’s something that I really sensed here when coming up for City Council, the civil service board and all the interviews I did.”

Rittman says that feeling remains true as he has been working in town after graduating from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

The young officer will be in training for the next three months, working directly with another officer during various shifts, and then on his own starting in late November.