The City of Bridgeport’s Police Department is closer to having a full staff than it has been in a long time thanks to the official addition of officers at last week’s Bridgeport City Council meeting.

 

Mayor Andy Lang gave the oath office to two officers. Lang swore in Officer Mackenzie B. Pernell and Owen D. Barrette.

 

Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker looked on as family of the new officers, as well as other members of the city’s police department, were on hand to welcome the new members. After the swearing in was done, Pernell and Barrette signed the necessary paperwork with City Clerk Donna Krivosky to make everything official.

 

Even with the additions, the department still has to add a few more men and women to round out the roster.

 

“We’re still a couple of short and we’re losing another officer the middle of this month,” said Walker. “We still have a few to replace yet and we also have a vacancy created from the new budget.”

 

Walker said the staff is currently at right around 30 officers. He said if all positions are filled the department would have 32 members on the staff, but the additions help bring them closer to the goal.

 

“We’re excited to have the new additions, particularly considering how hard recruiting is today,” said Walker, who has spent decades in the police service in both Clarksburg and Bridgeport. “It’s actually turned into a bit of a fulltime job recruiting individuals to fill the spots. We’ve all been looking forward to these two joining the force.”

 

Walker addressed City Council after the two took the oath. He commended both for spending lengthy time away from families during training. Walker said due to COVID-19 the pair were unable to spend time at home on weekends, which is typical during training.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Mayor Andy Lang reading the oath of becoming an officer during Mackenzie Pernell's swearing in ceremony, while Owen Barrette gets congratulated by Lang in the bottom photo.