Two new officers join Merced police

Two new officers were sworn in Friday at City Hall, bringing the total number of officers in the Merced Police Department to 84.

Police Chief Norm Andrade administered the oath of office to Jose Garcia and David Miller in the City Council chamber while standing in front of friends and family. Garcia, 31, is originally from Mariposa, and Miller, 29, is from Merced.

Andrade told the audience the men would need their help to cope with the difficulties of being an officer. “It’s a very demanding, very hard career,” he said.

The department will try to fill four more openings for officers, Andrade said.

Merced’s police force has shrunk over the past decade. A difficult local economy spurred by the housing market crash and Great Recession pushed the council to cut positions from a peak of 111 officers in 2007.

Andrade took time during the ceremony to commend the detectives in the room. He said their work has led to the arrest of suspects in both the baseball bat beating of a teenager on Jan. 9 and the shooting death of a popular cab driver on Jan. 5.

“They need to be recognized because they don’t get it enough,” he said.

The city of Merced is coming off a particularly violent year that left some members of the community calling for more officers. Merced had 15 homicides last year, a significant increase from five in 2013 and nine the year before that.

Overall, crime was down last year in the city.

The City Council this month asked the city staff to look into the cost of adding from one to three officers to the force in each of the next five years. Staff will also look at other crime-fighting efforts including a device that detects gunfire and notifies police, and solar lighting for alleys.

Each new officer will make $56,598 annually, according to the city’s Personnel Department.

This story was originally published January 16, 2015 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Two new officers join Merced police."