Four new reserve Lawrence Police Department officers were unanimously approved March 29 during the Lawrence Board of Public Works meeting.
Claude Plumlee, Joshua Whitlow, Auston Rollings and Spencer Clark officially joined the force April 1, following a swearing-in ceremony.
Before the board vote, LPD Lt. Scott Evans gave some background on the four men. He said Plumlee is a 2017 Carmel High School graduate and works as a public safety officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, conducting accident investigations.
“He’s an evidence technician and a field training officer,” Evans said. “He also volunteers with the Indy Public Safety Foundation and he’s very excited to join the Lawrence Police Department where he can use his previous experience to help serve the residents of Lawrence.”
Whitlow works for a local cable company and has worked as a reserve officer with the Southport Police Department.
“He’s decided that he would like to come to the Lawrence Police Department and continue his law enforcement career as a reserve here,” Evans said. “His goal is to continue on with law enforcement for a long time for the city.”
Rawlings is a U.S. Army veteran and former firefighter and EMT.
“He is currently employed at the Community Health Network as a security officer and he’s still serving in the Indiana National Guard,” Evans said. “Austin says he wants to continue to serve his country and the City of Lawrence as proudly as he does the country.”
Clark is a senior sales executive for Republic Services and membership director for the nonprofit Heroes Club, which supports first responders.
“He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management and he hopes to bring a positive light to law enforcement and give back to the City of Lawrence and also make the community a safer place,” Evans said.
The four new reserve officers and eight new full-time officers will be sworn in at 1 p.m. April 1 at the police station. Evans said the new full-time officers bring the Lawrence Police Department force to 62, and they hope to hire two more full-time officers.
Also on March 28, the board approved a contract with Bondry Consulting to provide financial advice to the city; and an agreement with Sohndi Solutions for IT services.
The next regular Lawrence Board of Public Works meeting is 5 p.m. April 11 at Lawrence Government Center, 9001 E. 59th St.
