Five officers sworn in at Coon Rapids ceremony

Coon Rapids — Five new officers for the Coon Rapids Police Department were formally sworn in during the Jan. 21 City Council meeting in a ceremony presided over by Mayor Jerry Cook and Police Chief Steiner.

The oath of office was administered individually to Adam Backman, Carol Wallsmith, Peter Giese, Soleima Saldivar and Ariel Huddleston. Chief Steiner introduced each officer and noted the department’s practice of assigning a unique badge number to each new hire.

“The badge is entrusted to you by the citizens of Coon Rapids and … it comes with the expectation that you always strive to do your job Coon Rapids’ way by modeling our police department’s core values of trust, professionalism, and compassion,” Chief Steiner said as he introduced the new officers.

The ceremony included family members and fellow officers pinning badges. Several new officers have a background with the department’s Explorer program or as community service officers (CSOs); Chief Steiner described those pathways in his introductions. Officer Adam Backman’s badge was pinned by Officer Johnson; Peter Giese’s badge was pinned by his brother, Sgt. Matt Giese of the Cambridge Police Department; Carol Wallsmith’s father, Jeff, pinned her badge; Soleima Saldivar’s children pinned her badge; and Ariel Huddleston’s wife Jessica assisted with his pinning.

Mayor Jerry Cook administered the oath to each officer. The council chambers and overflow areas drew family and community members for the event.

The ceremony was ceremonial and did not include any formal council action beyond its placement on the meeting agenda. Chief Steiner closed the swearing-in portion by thanking attendees and inviting them to remain for the remainder of the council meeting or to take photographs.

The council then resumed its regular agenda business.