By James Feichtner
The Zionsville Police Dept. is down a man, but gaining several more after the resignation of Jonathan “Wayde” Knox. The announcement was made at a Police Board Committee meeting on Monday, although his resignation was effective on Oct. 23.
Wayde has moved with his family to Kentucky where he is continuing to serve in law enforcement. Upon his move, Wayde asked the town for permission to bring his K9 unit dog Eso, whom he has cared for more than a year.
According to town officials, even though Wayde and his wife Baylee offered to pay for the dog, Eso is still Zionsville property and not a pet.
Chief Robert Knox expressed his reluctance to see Wayde leave the department, but wished his former officer success in spite of the issues surrounding his desire to keep Eso.
“It was quite a shock to me to receive his resignation,” Robert said. “He’s done very good work as a K9 handler. [We’re] real sorry to see Wayde go, but of course we wish him luck and a lot of success for him and his family. I sure wish we weren’t losing him.”
A Zionsville Town Council meeting scheduled for Nov. 3 will discuss the legality of if Wayde can purchase Eso.
Following Wayde’s resignation, the ZPD has begun the search for a new officer. The chief said that a conditional offer of employment has been extended to David S. Byrum. Byrum will be required to complete a series of law enforcement tests before he will join the department.
This comes after a recent Police Reserve Academy graduation in Lebanon that will add four new officers to the Zionsville department this year.
“I’m very proud of the four graduates that we had,” Robert said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with all four of the [new]reserve police officers. They did it, they persevered and they did exceptionally well.”
Among the four graduates, Robert made note of Jacob Shelburne for outstanding marksmanship and Kyle Hoover for academic achievement.
The next Police Board Committee meeting is Nov. 24 at Zionsville Town Hall.
