Parkersburg Police Department welcomes three officers to ranks
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PARKERSBURG -- Three new officers took the oath to become police officers with the Parkersburg Police Department.
Michael McMullen, Cody Moore and Cole Plants took their oaths to join the department on Thursday during a swearing-in ceremony held in Parkersburg City Council chambers before family and friends.
Each man was sworn in by Mayor Tom Joyce.
Police Chief Matthew Board said he was proud to be able to welcome the three new officers to the department. They all passed the prerequisites to join the department. He has known some of them for years and can attest to their character and commitment to the job.
"In a time when it is difficult to recruit police officers, I am ecstatic about this group of three," he said. "Due to the quality of people they are, I am really excited for them to become police officers for the City of Parkersburg."
McMullen said it was surreal to be sworn in. He wanted to become a police officer to be on the opposite side of crime.
"I am really thankful for the opportunity," he said.
Moore said being sworn in means everything to him.
"It is what I have wanted to do all my life," he said. "I was able to achieve it with the support of my wife and family."
When he was 18 he met a police chief whose wife he was working for. He had a chance to talk with the chief about the work and what it means.
"It is everything I could see myself as," he said. "I wanted to be able to help people. Overall, he was an excellent guy and I wanted to be like him."
Plants said being sworn in means a lot.
"To be able to protect and serve everyone in the community and being able to help out," he said. "I think it will be something that I will really enjoy doing."
He has been involved in law-enforcement working as a corrections officer and wanted to continue.
"It is something that I always enjoy," he said. "I love helping people out."
Board said the three will be going to the state police academy in January. In the meantime, they will be working within the department as the start of their training, being oriented on operations, learning procedures and more, he said.
Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com