11.12
Published: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
By Bradley Schlegel
Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY TWP. — Four members of the Montgomery Township Police Department accepted promotions to corporal at Monday’s board of supervisors meeting.
Gerald Dougherty, Robert Hart, Glenn Davis Jr. and William Peoples will assume supervisory roles, according to Richard Brady, chief of the department. He said the corporals would support the sergeants during routine assignments and take charge of squads when the sergeants are on vacation.
“We’re part of management now,” Hart said. “The four of us are prepared for our new role.”
Dougherty, who started with the unit as a dispatcher in 1986, has been patrolling the township’s streets for 20 years. He serves in the canine unit, as a firearm and taser instructor and is a member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force.
Brady said officers who start as a dispatcher learn the department and the community.
“It’s very advantageous,” the chief said.
Hart, who joined the department in 1988, currently supervises the canine unit.
Davis, an 11-year veteran, is an accident reconstruction expert.
Peoples, also in his 11th year, has taught Drug Abuse Resistance Education classes and became the department’s first accreditation manager.
All four are outstanding officers,” Brady said. “They are all diligent in their profession and proactive in their assignments.”
Corporal candidates, who require at least five years experience, spent three months studying for an exam in September.
Hart said he read five suggested books covering management, legal and investigative issues.
The written exam featured several situational questions, which included handling a criminal investigation or an officer with personal problems, according Hart. He called an oral exam, by three outside officers, very stressful.
Each candidate’s professional performance was scrutinized by his commanding officer and Brady, according to Hart.
“The whole process was very competitive,” he said “All the officers in this department want to do what is necessary to advance our careers.”
