by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
A new police officer, John Batterberry, took the oath of office and was welcomed warmly by the Sartell City Council at its April 10 meeting.
After administering the oath of duty, Sartell Police Chief Jim Hughes pinned the badge on Batterberry as the council looked on in admiration.
Batterberry, 29, has already completed his three months of field training and is now a full-fledged member of the Sartell force.
A native of Cold Spring, he graduated in 2010 with an associate degree from the Alexandria Technical College’s law-enforcement program. Just before his hiring in Sartell, he was a patrol officer for the Becker Police Department.
“So far, I’ve made a couple of warrant arrests and a couple of drug arrests,” said Batterberry in an interview with the Sartell-St. Stephen Newsleader.
He was elated to be hired by the Sartell Police Department because he has long believed in community policing, something the Sartell department strongly embraces.
“That’s at the top of my list,” said Batterberry, discussing his priorities for public safety. “I want to meet the people so they are more than a name and face and a number.”
In Becker, Batterberry was president of a volunteer group dubbed “The Defenders,” a volunteer organization that helped children in need, not necessarily police-oriented. The group helped sponsor good youth activities such as the Becker Dance Team and Tai Kwon Do classes. And Batterberry intends to continue such youth-networking activities as a member of the Sartell Police Department.
Batterberry and his wife, Aislynn, have three children – two daughters ages 14 and 2-1/2 months, and a 5-year-old son.
John Batterberry is the newest member of the Sartell Police Department. A former member of the Becker Police Department, he is a strong advocate and participant in the concept of community policing, in which officers and residents get to know and understand one another on a one-to-one basis.
