New Baker City officer one step closer to patrolling city streets
By Joe Hathaway on Tuesday, July 30th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY — A new officer is nearing the final steps of becoming part of the Baker City Police Department, ready to contribute to maintaining safety and order in the community.
The department announced that Officer Josh Horlocker has graduated from the police academy, which he began in April. He now moves on to field training for 16 weeks and once he completes that, he will return to Baker to begin patrolling.
In a Facebook post, the department saId, “We are thrilled to announce that Officer Horlocker has officially graduated the academy! Officer Horlocker’s dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence has truly paid off. Please join us in celebrating this fantastic achievement and wishing Officer Horlocker all the best.”
Horlocker was hired in March, part of a hiring push by Chief Ty Duby to mitigate staffing issues.
The department has been dealing with the staffing problems for a significant amount of time. It reached a point where last November, Duby announced that the department would end 24-hour patrols.
Duby has not yet said whether he plans to resume those round the clock patrols.
