By Pat Doody
staff writer
Tehachapi Police officers promoted and hired, Employee of the Quarter
City Council Update
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Before the March 15 City Council meeting, Police Chief Richard Standridge promoted Sergeant Jason Dunham and Sergeant Justin Ruppert to the position of Police Lieutenant. The move was made as part of the reorganization of the department approved by the council in November of 2023. Both were promoted following a rigorous testing process, panel review and interview with the city manager. Dunham had acted as interim police chief following the resignation of Chief Kent Kroeger. Before coming to Tehachapi he had worked for 17 years with the Rio Hondo Police Department, eight of them as a Police Sergeant. Rupert had spent 17 years with the Los Angeles Sheriff Department at the Lancaster Station. He joined the Tehachapi Police Department in 2022.
At the end of 2023, Police Chief Richard Standridge and his Command and Supervisory Staff decided that, beginning in 2024, they would publicly recognize an outstanding employee at the end of each calendar quarter. Standridge said that the employees of the Police Department work daily to serve the community with "honor and professionalism." Being honored for the first quarter of 2024 at the March 18 City Council meeting was Code Enforcement Officer/Level II Reserve Officer Anthony Bonelli. Standridge said that Bonnelli is more than Code Enforcement, at the department as he assists with assignments from the transport of prisoners to working city parades.
In 2023, the Tehachapi Police Department made the decision to hire police cadets interested in joining the department, send them to the Police Academy, then they would become an officer upon their graduation. On March 8, Cadet Christian Laverne completed training at the Kern County Sheriff's Department Basic Academy and became an entry level officer at the March 15 City Council meeting.
The Tehachapi City Council meets on the first and third Monday of the month at 6 p.m. They are currently meeting at the Police Department Community Room, 220 W. C St.
