City of Centralia appoints two new police officers Monday

CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Centralia Board of Alderman held a special meeting Monday night, appointing two new police officers.

The two officers appointed are Tannor Craddock and Jayden Sutton.

Craddock is currently employed with Mexico Public Safety and has been on the road as an officer for about a year now.

Sutton works with the Audrain County Sheriff's office and is a Centralia resident.

Now that the officers are appointed they will have to take a physical fitness test, and once they pass they will be officially sworn into the department in early May.

The Centralia Police Department's staffing issues started in Oct. after the chief of police and three other officers resigned. The officers that resigned said there were issues with city leadership being transparent with its citizens.

Harlan Hatton, Centralia's new Chief of Police, said things have been running smoothly since he took on the new role. 

Hatton said it's been helpful to keep good communication with the mayor, city administrator and other city leaders.

The Boone County Sheriff's Office helped Centralia PD over the past few months while they were short-staffed.

Once these two officers are sworn in the department will be fully staffed with nine full-time officers and two part-time officers.