Bayron Ordonez was one of four new Sioux City police officers sworn in during a ceremony at the Woodbury County Courthouse on Friday.
“It feels amazing. I've always wanted to serve my community, and I feel like this is a great way to give back and to do something that I've always wanted to do,” Ordonez said.
Ordonez, who was born in Honduras, is one of two new officers representing the Hispanic community that makes up about 21% of Sioux City’s population. Eight percent of officers are Hispanic.
“Some of my mentors are of Hispanic origin. And then I think we have some of the Asian community, the African American community, throughout the force. Sioux City is very diverse," Ordonez said. "We have many different languages that are spoken here in this community. And I feel like growing up in this community, even if I didn't see a lot of police officers that were in the same minority as me, they treated me with the utmost respect here out of any other city that I've ever been to.
“Unfortunately, in the society that we live in today, some people don't trust police officers, if they see somebody that is more of what they're used to, it's easier for people to open up and trust us,” Ordonez added.
Police Chief Rex Mueller agrees.
“We need to recruit people that look like the community that we serve. And that's what we constantly strive to do," he said. "We want good people, but we also want people who will be able to relate to the community and them and the community to them. So, it's an important part of what we do we strive for that we hope to attract candidates of all backgrounds to this department in this profession.
“And I think we're doing that, and it's a very difficult hiring environment. The fact that we still have a lot of interested people that are coming to our department and our city says, volumes about that not only the quality of the department but especially the quality of the community and how they support law enforcement,” Mueller added.
Of the 127 police officers on the force, more than a quarter are minorities, including women. A spokesperson admits difficulty in trying to recruit Native Americans to the Sioux City Police Department.
Ordonez will now head to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy for several weeks, then complete more training, including fieldwork with Sioux City police, before heading out on his own.
“I'm looking forward to helping people out. That's really what I wanted to do," Ordonez said. "I wanted to protect this community that I love and serve the community, and also help anybody that needs help, just like I know people that have and I have in the past when I was a kid."
Mueller said the road is long before new officers are ready to be solo, but getting to work with and learn from other officers is enjoyable.
The other new officers are Cade Gill, Josh Hogue and Austin Sanchez.
"These are incredible events for us and for the families when we welcome these new officers to the law enforcement family," Mueller said. "So, it's very important for us to have the ceremony to show appreciation for the families because they're going to be supporting these officers moving forward. I remember when I was sworn in, and we hope that they, these young officers, will remember the day that we swore them in, too."
