While one longtime Savannah-Chatham police officer was promoted, 25 of the department’s newest officers were sworn in during a ceremony Friday afternoon at the Savannah Civic Center.
Capt. John Best, a 28-year veteran of the department, was promoted to captain during the ceremony at the civic center about two weeks after Police Chief Willie Lovett announced he’d picked Best to command the Islands Precinct.
Best had most recently served as the watch commander in Central Precinct as a lieutenant.
Additionally, 25 officers received their badges after completing Savannah-Chatham’s patrol school.
The officers will complete 19 weeks of training, including 11 weeks at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center-Garden City, and then will be assigned to a personal training officer for 10 weeks before they can patrol on their own.
Those receiving their badges Friday were: Jude Alberts, Gregory Bain, Patrick Barrett, Rashad Beals, Isaiah Davis, Mary Dunning, Aaron Fox, David Gratton, John Hauber, Jacob Kapeller, Lyndsey Lyon, Karlos Manning, Ryan McElaney, Damon Ownes, Daniel Postell, Dylan Potter, Javarin Sapp, Zachary Sarro, Richard Saxon, Kevin Seay, Brandon Tufts, Mark Tyler, Freddie Walker, and Kaleb Wood.