A former member of the Army National Guard in the U.S. is the newest recruit to be sworn in as a new officer for the Weyburn Police Service.
Jake Sonnenberg was sworn in by city lawyer Mike Weger in a ceremony at the Weyburn police station, with his wife Alisa, and sons Sam and Ben, in attendance, along with members of the Weyburn Police Commission.
Mayor Debra Button, chair of the commission, said as a member of city council, she and the police sometimes deal with the same things as people call them with problems and they try to address those problems.
Passing on a word of advice, the mayor told Sonnenberg that he needs to ensure his mental health is looked after as well as his physical health as a new police officer.
“You will sometimes see things that might put your mental health at risk,” she said, noting the police department has a great resource in their chaplain, Jay Mowchenko, who has also been a help to her as mayor.
Chief Marlo Pritchard noted the Weyburn Police Service is coming up to its 60th anniversary, with a lot of history of policing prior to that as well. He said Sonnenberg will have to earn his badge over the next five months, as he attends police college in Regina.
“When I started in police work I didn’t have to think of national security issues, and you do,” he told Sonnenberg, adding, “Working with the stakeholders in the community is important.”
In an interview, Sonnenberg said he’s wanted to be a police officer since he was young, growing up in Minnesota.
He attended police college in Minnesota, and joined the National Guard as a combat medic, and later attended Minot State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, meeting his wife, Alisa McLeod from Weyburn.
Sonnenberg was deployed to Iraq as a combat medic for 22 months with the Army National Guard, and after returning from that tour of duty, he finished his degree, and in 2009 he and Alisa moved to Weyburn.
Once he was eligible to work in Canada, he went to work with Alisa’s father, Scott McLeod, at Hawkeye Security, and when an opportunity opened up for a new recruit for the Weyburn Police Service, he applied for it.
Asked if he has any long-term goals for his police career, Sonnenberg said he would like to get into investigative work at some point, such as forensic investigations.
For the most part, he’s open to seeing where his career will take him once he’s completed his training and begins his duties here.
“I want to get good at what I do and progress from there,” he said.
