A police department representative updated the Board of Public Safety on Aug. 21 about year‑to‑date crime, staffing and community outreach and said the department is using conducted energy devices primarily as a de‑escalation tool. The board also approved the promotion of Officer First Class Carl Bryant to senior police officer effective Aug. 18, 2025.

The presenter said overall crime totals and calls for service remain higher than last year but showed some month‑to‑month improvement; traffic stops declined slightly and calls involving weapons “continue to trend downward,” the presenter reported. The department provided training and staffing figures: 15 officers completed state‑mandated online training and 15 completed a prosecutor’s legal update; four officers attended a drone tactics course and one attended an internal SWAT school. The presenter also reported K‑9 in‑service hours and multiple community events—National Night Out, a Fourth of July parade, back‑to‑school outreach and bike‑index training.

The department described social‑work activities tied to police responses, including housing referrals, resume help and mental‑health and family‑therapy connections. The presenter said the department has four social‑work or mental‑health professionals on staff (one identified as a counselor rather than a social worker) and credited those staff with linking individuals to long‑term housing, food stamps and medication.

On recruitment and personnel, the department said it has 95 sworn officers out of 105 authorized positions. Earlier in 2025 the department hired 11 officers and has six additional candidates currently in background checks. Two applicants are scheduled to start the academy in mid‑September. The presenter said one retirement is confirmed to take effect at the start of the new year.

The presenter described the department’s reintroduction of Tasers and summarized deployment and training practices: officers receive an annual eight‑hour course that includes scenario‑based training and a qualification exercise; the department uses Axon training simulators that integrate scenario training with the devices. The presenter said actual deployments that result in probes being launched remain infrequent—“probably under 20” probe launches in the first year—and that many incidents are resolved when the presence or arc‑warning sound of the device prompts compliance.

The board approved a promotion motion for Carl Bryant. A motion to promote Officer First Class Carl Bryant to senior police officer effective Aug. 18, 2025, was moved and seconded; the board voted unanimously in favor.

Discussion items the presenter raised but that did not result in board action included presentation of the department budget to the city council, continuing efforts to recruit and retain officers and preliminary planning for a proposed new police facility at the 714 location; the presenter said the building project has been slowed by recent legislative action affecting property taxes and that the department is seeking an architect to provide cost estimates.

No ordinance or policy was adopted during the police report beyond the personnel promotion vote; the presenter said the department will return to the board with updates on staffing and the facility project.