Sentelle, Thompson Sworn in as Danville Probationary Police Officers

ABOVE: Probationary Officers Tyler Sentelle and Jeffery Thompson, joined by Police Chief Christopher Yates.

Jeffery Thompson and Tyler Sentelle have been sworn in by Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr as Danville Probationary Police Officers, and they will begin 14 weeks of training at the academy at the U of I starting this weekend.  Police Chief Christopher Yates has been wanting to get the force up to 70 officers, and now climbing through the mid-to-upper 60s, it’s just a matter of time.

AUDIO: It’s very important; it moves us closer to our goal of reaching 70 officers, and we hope to be there very soon.

(Left) Jeffery Thompson and (Right) Tyler Sentelle are sworn in as Danville Probationary Officers by Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr.

Thompson and Sentelle are both Danville Area Community College graduates.  DACC president Dr. Stephen Nacco was in the City Council Chambers for the ceremony.  And he credited the mayor’s father, Professor Rickey Williams, on the Criminal Justice education of Thompson and Sentelle.  Dr. Nacco says, he hopes the senior Williams is on his team for a long time.

398 – Nacco on New Officers   :13…I retire.”

AUDIO: And the Criminal Justice courses they took, and Rickey Williams is a great professor, and these were fine students, so DACC’s proud and Danville’s proud to have both Jeffery and Tyler..  He is absolutely one of our superstar professors.  If he retires, I retire.

(Left) Thompson and Sentelle prior to ceremony.  (Right) Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr speaks during ceremony.

As for Thompson and Sentelle’s ambitions to be officers, they both told us it’s been a long time goal, as we hear from (Jeffery) Thompson first and (Tyler) Sentelle second.

AUDIO: (Thompson) Whatever I do in my near future is to be in this position right now.  I mentioned during my speech, I have joined the service recently.  I’ve been in for about three-and-a-half years now.  I’ve worked Corrections for four years, and also received by Associate’s Degree.  So all the work that I put in is for this position right here.  (Sentelle) I think once I got into education with my Associate’s and doing my internship; this showed me a lot of what policing is.  You have to always be safe, and you always have to be ready and prepared of everything they do, because you never know what can happen, and I think I’m ready for that.  

Sentelle has already done an internship with the Danville Police Department.  Thompson, meanwhile, as he mentioned, has been serving in the United States Marines.  Both are Westville High School graduates, Sentelle also attended Danville High School before moving.