Two new officers sworn into Warren Police Department
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WARREN -- Isaiah Belcher said being the oldest boy in his family of 18 children, he tended to get called upon to resolve problems among the kids.
"I have a calling to help people. I come from a huge family," including step-siblings and half-siblings. "So whenever we would have problems growing up, they always looked to me to solve them, you know when Dad wasn't in the picture," he said Monday morning after being sworn in as one of two new Warren police officers.
"My mom was a police officer, and my dad was a firefighter," Belcher said. "I come from a history of people who wanted to protect and serve. I always felt it was in my blood."
He said he thought about other careers. And after the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis at the hands of police officers in May of 2020, he thought, "Maybe now's not the best time."
But he said Monday he wishes he would have gone ahead then "because that would be all the more reason to go into" law enforcement -- the need for good officers. That is the kind he plans to be, he said.
Both new officers are from Trumbull County.
The other new officer is Chase Welch, who said he also has law enforcement officers in his family -- his father, grandfather and stepfather.
"This has been a lifelong goal of mine," he said Monday. Those three men have "been in law enforcement for as long as I've been alive," he said.
Welch said he did not go into law enforcement immediately after graduating from high school. Instead, he worked for the Warren Operations Department for four years.
But on the day that he learned that Warren had a police department cadet program, he applied immediately. "I didn't even think twice," he said.
The National Testing Network has a web page to promote the Warren Police Department Cadet Program. It states that applicants who are accepted into the program are paid $18 per hour and benefits full-time while attending the police academy.
Tuition and costs associated with the police academy are paid by the city, and after the cadet earns his or her Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy (OPOTA) certificate after successfully completing the police academy, the cadet can be sworn in as a full-time police officer with the Warren Police Department, it states.
At that point, the officer makes $23.80 per hour for up to one year of experience, $26.18 for one to two years of experience, $28.56 per hour for two to three years of experience, $30.14 for three to four years of experience and $31.73 for four years and up of experience.
Acceptance into the Cadet Program is in exchange for the officer working a minimum of five years with the department following swearing-in as a full-time police officer.
He said the Cadet Program takes seven months. He applied in July of 2025 and was accepted after taking the civil service test and undergoing a background check and was "officially hired on Jan. 5," he said.
He started the police academy at Kent State University at Trumbull Jan. 12 and passed his OPATA test July 7.
"You get a better understanding of the department and what you are getting into," Welch said of the Cadet Program. "You get a better idea of the job and the department," he said.
With a large group of family and friends of the two new officers in attendance, as well as their fellow officers, Warren Mayor Doug Franklin said the decision to become a Warren police officer and take the oath of office, which they both did a little later Monday morning, "is a profound commitment.
"You are stepping up to protect, serve and uphold the trust of this community, our community," Franklin said. "And we are deeply grateful for your dedication to public service."
He also thanked the family members, saying they are "sharing your very best with our city, and we do not take this sacrifice for granted." He told them that the two new officers "will receive world-class training, robust resources and an unwavering mentorship from their fellow officers, who you see here today."
He said the city is "fully committed to ensure that they have every tool and piece of support they need to succeed and then to return home safely to you all at the end of every shift."
Acting police Chief Rob Massucci said Monday the department now has 60 police officers, including ranking officers and himself, and the department's goal is to reach 70.
There are others on a list who have taken the National Testing Network test, but there will be a waiting period to see how many will complete all of the remaining steps to be sworn in as a Warren police officer.
Safety Service Director Eddie Colbert said during the swearing in that the city has taken recruiting steps such as paying for individuals to obtain their OPATA certificate, reimbursing people for obtaining the certification or laterally transferring from another department.
"There is no question in the city of Warren our priorities do lie with our safety forces -- police and fire," he said.
Two other people joined the Warren Police Department Cadet Program this month and are working toward a career in law enforcement by attending a local police academy, Colbert said.