ANDERSON, Ind. — Three new police officers were introduced to the city’s Board of Public Safety on Thursday and will be sworn in Nov. 30 as part of a $1.5 million grant to the Anderson Police Department.
One of the three officers, Zane Sparks, is the 23-year-old son of APD Chief Darron Sparks. The other two are Shanda Wilhoite, 24, and Ian Spearman, 29.
The officers’ hirings were made possible by a federal stimulus grant aimed at continuing the department Community Oriented Policing Services, which focuses on certain trouble areas and directs patrols there. The new officers bring the department’s total to 120.
More than 100 people applied for the open positions, APD instructor Mike Anderson said.
“These three applicants were in the top five,” he said. “They are very qualified applicants.”
Safety Board member John Bostic said he paid attention to Sparks’ progress during the hiring process to make sure his hiring was based on his attributes rather than his father’s position as chief.
“I wanted to make sure that you was coming on the best you possibly could because your father was the chief,” Bostic said. “We could be very proud of how you really went at it.”
Safety Board member H.L. Baker said Zane Sparks would have to prove himself on his own merits.
“You get looked at somewhat in a different way (as the chief’s son),” Baker said. “By being a police officer, you make it on your own.”
Zane Sparks said his father’s commitment to public safety was one reason he wanted to become a police officer.
“It always goes back to my father,” he said. “I was born and raised around it. I want to clean the streets. I want to keep it clean.
“I felt this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Zane Sparks graduated from Anderson High School and played baseball for two years at a community college before applying for the police officer position. He said he would like to become a SWAT team member or K-9 officer.
Wilhoite was the department’s No. 1 female applicant, Anderson said.
The Anderson High School graduate lives in Anderson and is finishing a degree in political science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
“I have a passion for the youth and can definitely see how there is an opportunity to make an impact, to reach them in a way some leaders in the community can’t reach them,” she said.
Spearman, an Indiana University graduate who lives in Indianapolis, already has gone through the police academy. He plans to move to Anderson soon and hopes eventually to do investigative work.
“My biggest hurt is when an adult hurts a child or an adult hurts an elderly person,” he said.
The stimulus grant provides funding for the three officers for three years and requests that the city take over their salaries in the fourth year. Darron Sparks said he expects to be able to absorb that cost with other officers retiring over the next few years.
“In four years, we’ll have 23 police officers with 28 or more years,” he said.
Bostic praised the Police Department for securing the grant to help with manpower.
“A double thanks for the way you went out and found money to hire them without coming from the general fund,” he said.
Bostic also was pleased with APD’s efforts to recruit minorities for the most recent hiring cycle. Two of the three new hires are black.
Anderson said the department held meetings informing minorities how to apply for the job and what would be required of them. They asked them to pass out applications to their families and friends.
For related articles on city hiring practices, see Sunday’s The Herald Bulletin.
Contact Aleasha Sandley: 640-4805, aleasha.sandley@heraldbulletin.com.
Breaking News
Police chief’s son among 3 new hires
- Breaking News
-
-
Ohio casinos will cut into nearby states' winnings
The opening of casinos in Ohio this spring means the luck is running out for neighboring states that have pulled in an estimated $1 billion each year from gamblers who've been crossing the border to wager at riverboats in Indiana, gaming tables in Michigan and casinos in western Pennsylvania.
-
Shock over arrest in NYC boy's '79 disappearance
When police dug up a Manhattan basement last month in a fruitless search for the remains of Etan Patz, Lucy Suarez saw the news on TV and wished that the family of the missing child would finally get some peace. "My sister and I prayed about it. We prayed and we said, 'Let justice be done,'" Suarez said. "Never did we think it was going to be done with our family."
-
Obama, Romney try to play it safe in 2012 gamble
For all the small daily dramas of the 2012 campaign, there's a risk-averse dynamic playing out: Neither candidate has been making bold new policy proposals or displaying a free-wheeling personal style. So far, at least.
-
Vatican confirms pope's butler arrested in scandal
The Vatican confirmed Saturday that the pope's butler had been arrested in its embarrassing leaks scandal, adding a Hollywood twist to a sordid tale of power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of Catholic Church governance.
-
Dry spring causing concern for holiday weekend
An abnormally dry spring has farmers worried about crops and the Indiana fire marshal concerned about fireworks, cookout and bonfires sparking fires during the Memorial Day weekend.
-
Tropical storm warnings for Southeast coast
Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Southeast coast from north Florida to South Carolina as a cluster of thunderstorms was gathering strength Friday night and expected to become Tropical Storm Beryl over the Memorial Day weekend.
-
Wildfire blows heavy smoke near Disney World
A wildfire that is burning in Orlando blew heavy smoke near the busy hotel and attractions district of Walt Disney world at the start of the busy Memorial Day weekend.
-
Indiana man releases hostages, fatally shoots self
A gunman looking for someone he believed owed him money shot himself inside an Indiana real estate office several hours after releasing hostages Friday, and he died after being rushed to a hospital, police said.
-
AP study: Typical CEO made $9.6M last year
The head of a typical public company made $9.6 million in 2011, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm.
-
Campaign styles clash in Wisconsin recall race
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his Democratic opponent are locked together in a fiercely fought recall race, but they are campaigning in dramatically different ways.
- More Breaking News Headlines
-
Ohio casinos will cut into nearby states' winnings
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
