Sheriff Kyle P. Dukes Wednesday announced promotions at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.
Joel Popenfoose was promoted to patrol sergeant.
Popenfoose is a Warsaw native and began his career with the KCSO as a reserve deputy sheriff in 2011. Two years later, Popenfoose was promoted to merit deputy.
In addition to patrol functions, Popenfoose is a field training officer and SWAT operator.
Popenfoose graduated from Warsaw Community High School in 2003 and Grace College in 2007 with a degree in criminal justice. Popenfoose’s brother, Jon, is an active reserve deputy sheriff.
Caleb Snyder was promoted to corrections corporal.
Snyder joined the KCSO as a corrections officer in 2014, one year after graduating from WCHS. He is a member of the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), which is the tactical unit for the corrections division.
Veteran law enforcement officer Doug Light is the latest merit deputy at the KCSO. In September, Light was hired in a joint venture with the Wawasee Community School Corporation to provide a school resource officer at the Wawasee Middle School and North Webster Elementary School. During that time, Light was a special deputy and paid by the school corporation. He is now a full-time employee of the sheriff’s office and will remain in the school resource position.
Light graduated from WCHS in 1991 and Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne in 1994 with a criminal justice degree.
He joined the Warsaw Police Department in 1995, where he initially served as a patrolman and was later promoted to shift supervisor. For 10 years, Light was a DARE instructor and school resource officer. Also while at the Warsaw Police Department, he was an emergency vehicle operations instructor, SWAT operator and SCUBA diver.
