Addison Watson will now serve as a reserve police officer for New Bloomfield. The police department is slotted for six officers but has only had three for several months. New Bloomfield Mayor Michael Lowe Sr. swore in Watson just after the Board of Aldermen meeting Thursday night.
Watson has prior experience as a police officer in Columbia, where he lives. He is an emergency room nurse and graduate student. He is studying to become a nurse practitioner. Once he is finished with school, Watson said he would like to move to a small town like New Bloomfield.
Watson said he hopes to give back to the community by serving as a reserve police officer. He is also volunteering his time to maintain his status as an officer, since he no longer works as an officer full time.
Prior to Watson being sworn in, the New Bloomfield police department had two paid officers and one reserve or volunteer officer. Now, they will have two paid and two volunteered.
New Bloomfield Chief of Police Chris Hammann said he has two other candidates to bring before the board of aldermen. He wants to have a few part-time officers so the department can better work around each officer's availability. Reserve officers often have other job commitments. Hammann said having multiple reserve officers makes scheduling easier.
Megan Favignano can be reached at (573) 826-2417 or [email protected].