A new officer joined the ranks of the Soldotna Police Department during Wednesday’s meeting of the Soldotna City Council. Soldotna Mayor Paul Whitney swore in Bryan Hahn, originally from the central peninsula, as the department’s newest police officer.
Hahn most recently worked for the Anchorage Police Department, where in 2018 he was part of the department’s largest academy class since the 1970s. Present at Wednesday’s council meeting to show their support for Hahn, who was sworn in under the gaze of Soldotna Police Chief Gene Meek, were friends and family members that packed the audience.
“We are excited to have him and look forward to his continued service in Soldotna,” the Soldotna Police Department said in a post shared to social media Wednesday.
Hahn’s addition to the team of officers at the department, Meek told council members Wednesday, comes as another officer is preparing to step down. That resignation will leave the department with a new officer vacancy that Meek said they’ll be trying to fill. The department earlier this year was included in a study of ways Soldotna can boost employee retention and recruitment.
“I’m pleased to see we have a new police officer,” Soldotna City Council member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings told Meek on Wednesday.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
