Merced County Sheriff’s Office swears in 20 new employees

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office swore in 20 new employees Monday morning in a continuing effort to bolster the department’s ranks.

The new employees will fill various positions, including animal control officers, deputy trainees, court bailiffs, dispatchers and patrol deputies. Many of the new hires have previous experience in law enforcement, an important selling point for the Sheriff’s Office, which lost many of its experienced deputies last year to better-paying jobs.

“This helps us trim the learning curve,” Sheriff Vern Warnke said.

Warnke used an analogy from the John Wayne film “The Comancheros” to describe the oath the new hires took: “Words are what we live by.”

The department won’t reap the benefits of all of the new employees right away. The four deputy trainees will undergo many hours of training with the department and attend the academy before being paired up with a training officer. Later this month, however, five other trainees will graduate from the academy and pair up with a training officer, Warnke said.

Michael Hagerman and James Woodley each were sworn in as deputies to work in the courts. Both men were retired from the California Highway Patrol. Hagerman worked with CHP for 30 years and Woodley for 28.

Hagerman said he missed the “esprit de corps” of working in law enforcement. “I missed the guys and gals, the banter, the atmosphere,” he said. “And, of course, the public service. It’s a good feeling.”

LaRon Harley, formerly with the Livingston Police Department, was sworn in as a deputy. Harley also worked in law enforcement in San Diego. Martha Martinez, also sworn in as a deputy, has previous experience with the county and law enforcement, too. She worked for the county for 10 years, then was a patrol officer with Merced Police Department.

“I’m ecstatic to go out to the streets and help fight crime for Merced County,” Martinez said. “I love this place I live in.”

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Merced County Sheriff’s Office swears in 20 new employees."