Two men join ranks of Barstow PD

Staff photo by Aaron Aupperlee, Cathy Edwards, left, pins a Barstow Police Department badge on her son, Officer David Edwards, and Michelle Shamhart does the same to her boyfriend, Officer Christopher Seda, at a swearing in ceremony for Barstow's two newest police officers.

By AARON AUPPERLEE Staff Writer BARSTOW - Cathy Edwards said her son, David, always wanted to be a cop. As a child, she said, he would practice arresting his dog and little brother. Those years of practice paid off. On Tuesday, Edwards and Christopher Seda were sworn in as the newest members of the Barstow Police Department during a ceremony held in the Barstow City Council chambers. The department is still hiring officers as well as looking for a chief following four officers' resignations and Chief Lee Gibson's retirement at the end of April. Candidates began interviewing for the chief position on Tuesday, said John Rader, spokesman for the city. On Tuesday, the new officers placed their hand on a Bible and promised to uphold the law and protect the city of Barstow. Interim Police Chief Rudy Alcantara asked all police officers in attendance to stand as he read the police code of ethics. "I'm so exited. I'm so proud of him," Cathy Edwards said after the ceremony. Edwards comes to Barstow straight from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Academy. Seda has one year with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department under his belt. He said during his year in the sheriff's department, he honed his communication skills and patience - two assets he hopes to use in Barstow. Both do not know what to expect walking the beat in Barstow. Seda said that based on the stories of other officers, the job entails "a little bit of everything." Both are eager to start. "I can't wait to get out there," Edwards said. "I went into the military to become a police officer." Edwards and Seda both served in the military -Edwards in the Navy and Seda in the Army with a year spent in Iraq. Alcantara said the next task is to take the excitement new officers bring to the department and apply it to the everyday job. He said a lot of officers come to the Barstow department ready to clean up the streets in one swoop. "We have to bring them down to reality," he said. "Show them, this is the Barstow Police Department, and this is how we do things." But Alcantara is not worried. "They'll be fine, though," he said. "I'm glad we could hire them as quickly as we did." April's resignations dropped an already depleted staff down to 29 officers, nine short of the departments budgeted positions. Alcantara, who became interim chief at the beginning of May, said the recruiting efforts have been successful. He hopes to have all the open positions at the department filled by the end of June. Rader said the search for a chief is moving forward as well. Six candidates, both internal and external, interviewed at city hall for the position on Tuesday. "After that, the city manager has to decide whether to select of those candidates or continue the search," Rader said.