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Craig Police highlight SRO life‑saving, new recruitment video and year‑end crime trends
Summary
At the Jan. 13 council meeting Police Chief Michael Cochran presented a life‑saving award for School Resource Officer Samboo Shesta, debuted a recruitment video to fill three vacancies and reported increases in traffic enforcement and crimes against persons at year‑end.
Police Chief Michael Cochran presented three items to the council on Jan. 13: a life‑saving award for a school resource officer, a newly produced recruitment video, and the department’s year‑end activity summary.
Chief Cochran thanked Sergeant Codell for submitting the nomination and introduced School Resource Officer Samboo Shesta, who on Dec. 9, 2025 performed the Heimlich maneuver on a 14‑year‑old student at Mafet County High School and dislodged a food item that was blocking the student’s airway before emergency medical personnel departed. Sergeant Codell read the award citation, which stated in part: “Craig Police Department awarded to Officer Samboo Shesta for outstanding police performance in the saving of a human life…Your display of conspicuous initiative, capability, and attention to duty has proven to be unmeasurable.” Council and audience applause followed and the award was presented.
The chief then previewed a department recruitment video produced to help fill three open positions. He credited staff members who produced the video and noted the department hopes the video will attract applicants.
Cochran also summarized the department’s December and year‑end statistics: traffic enforcement increased (over 200 traffic stops in December and about 94 citations), arrests rose about 15% year over year, and the crime index for crimes against persons increased roughly 75% compared with 2024. He called out a spike in DUI arrests on New Year’s Eve (seven arrests across coordinated agencies) and said code enforcement calls were up in December, which staff attributed in part to lack of snow that left code issues visible.
On a separate but related concern, the chief and council discussed regional victim‑support post‑incident cleanup funding: an organization that has provided cleanup work (Reps) is losing funding and historically cleanups cost about $3,000 per incident; going forward Reps may only be able to reimburse $500–$1,000, which could leave families facing additional costs. Chief Cochran said he will follow up with Reps and report back to council.
The council received the report; Chief Cochran said the department will return with a revised, streamlined monthly report format beginning in February.
