Alan Garcia was a little nervous as he took an oath and became a Kane County Sheriff’s Corrections Officer.
“Congratulations, you are in,” Sheriff Donald Kramer said.
Garcia’s father, Miguel, hugged him and his mother, Ayde, cried a bit and posed for photos with the new corrections officer.
The scene was repeated seven more times as Kane County Sheriff Donald Kramer swore in Sheriff’s Deputies Ryan Wasson and Ryan Quinn, Corrections Officers Andrew Wagner and Eric Johnson and Court Security Officers Angelica Diaz, Jonathan Irizarry and Kevin Keinath.
Kramer’s office added a total of eight new deputies to the ranks.
Sheriff’s Lt. Pat Gengler said the department remains short-staffed, but the newly sworn deputies will help with staffing levels affected by medical or military leaves. It will take about six months for the new deputies to be fully trained, he said. One deputy, Ryan Wasson, is a former Sheriff’s Deputy who worked in California so his training will be shorter, Gengler said.
It was the most deputies Kramer has sworn in since he took office.
“It’s exciting to see people still want to be in law enforcement even though the environment is difficult right now,” Kramer said. “I feel we got some good candidates, some good people.”
A key for the new deputies’ success is having family support, Kramer said. A career in law enforcement can be difficult so it is important to have that support, he said.
The sheriff’s office has a total of 85 sworn deputies, 122 corrections officers and 35 court security officers, Gengler said. A corrections officer resigned this week to take a position with another county, he said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
