REDMOND, OR -- One new Redmond Police officer and one promoted from within were sworn in Monday, during a ceremony at City Hall. Officer Zach Moore was hired from a department in Arizona and Erik Beckwith was promoted to Lieutenant.  During the ceremony, Chief Dave Tarbet offered them both a little advice, "As you progress through your career, help those that fall behind you, so that as you climb the ladder of success, those behind you on the ladder, you'll pull them with you up that ladder. I've always remembered that and it's helped me a lot in my career."

Chief Tarbet tells KBND News this is just the start of a hiring push at the department, "We had a vacancy come open as a Lieutenant, and in order to promote up the chain, we had to backfill it with a new hire off the street. So, you could say this new hire here, Zach Moore, is actually the backfill for Lt. Beckwith's position." And, he says, more are coming in the next several months, "All in all, it'll be four new hires and that will get us up to 42 sworn officers. We're still about four short, but this helps immensely. We're looking forward to beefing up our patrol teams and being able to handle the call load out there on the street." Because those offers were extended to officers working at other agencies, Tarbet says they don't need as long to get up to speed and get out on patrol.

City Council approved the hiring of four new officers in May, by allocating more money to the department. That increased law enforcement funding came from the city's general fund, which left the parks department without the increase it needed for maintenance and staffing. Officials say the police department's growth has not kept pace with the city's, which has just about doubled in population in the past 15 years. 

Photos: (Top) Lt. Erik Beckwith is sworn in by Chief Dave Tarbet. (Upper Right) Officer Zach Moore's wife pins on his new Redmond PD badge.