Police Department welcomes three new officers to the force

Guthrie Police Chief Damon Devereaux has announced three new police officers who will soon be serving the City of Guthrie.

Joining the force will be Mike Johns, Jade Terbush and Reginald Smith Jr.

Johns is originally from Australia and has an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice, and currently lives in Stillwater. Johns has wanted to be a police officer since high school, but hasn’t had the opportunity to pursue a career in law enforcement until recently.

Smith, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Langston University,  intern at the City of Guthrie where he was exposed to the Police Department. Smith has been working for the Avalon Halfway House as a case manager/supervisor for the past two years and is excited to begin his new career.

Terbush has a security background, and is currently working on his Associates Degree in Police Science and is set to graduate in January. Terbush is currently in the COPS program and will take the CLEET test in February.  Jade has been preparing himself for a career in Law Enforcement for several years and is looking forward to working for GPD.

“I have personally met with these men and feel that they have the skills and character traits to provide a high level of service to the citizens of Guthrie,” City Manager Matt Mueller said.

The three officers are currently going through training, including Thursday morning and afternoon on defensive tactics with Sgt. Mike Loya. Loya described the training process as a 14.5 week CLEET course (Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training) in Ada and 12-14 weeks in field training.

According to Devereaux, each officer in the department is required to continue their education by attending a minimum of 25 hours of CLEET accredited training and two hours of mental health along with six hours in evidence sexual assault training. In addition, officers must qualify with firearms twice a year.