Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Monday approved for Warsaw Police Department to hire Paul Heaton.
Heaton, Winona Lake, will serve as a WPD patrol officer and replaces WPD Cpl. Steve Brown, who retired in February.
Heaton's duties will be effective Monday. His bi-weekly salary will be $1,545.50.
He has served on the Winona Lake Police Department for seven years.Warsaw Police Chief Perry Hunter said Heaton is qualified for the position.
"He will be a welcomed addition to our police department, and he knows a lot about Warsaw," Hunter said.
The board also approved WPD switching from using radio modems for the department's mobile data system to cellular data cards for the Central Dispatch System.
WPD Lt. Bret Richardson said the cellular data cards will allow the department faster communications with the mobile data server.
"It has more bandwidth available, which will allow the data to move faster and permit more data from the server terminals to be pushed to the mobile units," Richardson said.
The switch to the cellular cards will allow the officers to obtain more information on their mobile data terminal than the current system permits.
Booking photos from the Kosciusko County Jail will be available to the officer on patrol to help identify people they are dealing with on calls. The court records system also will be available.
The officer also will be able to do their own warrant inquiries without having to radio the dispatcher.
Also during the meeting, the board approved for the WPD to apply for a grant through the Bureau of Justice Assistance. If approved, the grant will allow the police department to purchase bullet-proof vests.
The grant pays 50 percent of the cost of the vests for law enforcement officers. Warsaw would be required to match the amount awarded for the purchase of the vests.
The board also approved a contract between Warsaw Parks Department and Lakeview Middle School to use the location as a rain site for the department's summer concert series.
