Waldon promoted to Lieutenant

Posted Date: 01/12/2024

Sergeant Justin Waldon was promoted to Lieutenant on Jan. 1. Waldon has been with the Harrison Police Department since October 2000. 

“My favorite part of the job is helping people,” he said. His duties as supervisor will expand from working with the current four officers to 18. “Sure, I’ve wanted to continue to promote. That’s just the natural process of the job,” he said.

Police Chief Chris Graddy said, “Lt. Waldon has worked his way up from a reserve officer to assistant patrol commander.  His work ethic and his dedication to our community is much appreciated.  Lt. Waldon will continue to serve our community in his new position by his leadership and guidance of our patrol division.”

A total of three officers completed the oral testing for the position. “The team asked many ‘supervisor’ type questions to see our response for various scenarios we might encounter.”

Waldon started out with the police force as a reserve patrol officer.

What does that mean?

“I was a 21-year-old unpaid officer volunteering my time for 18 months until an opening came available,” he said. “I actually took a pay cut from my Walmart job when I was hired by the HPD full-time in 2002. The starting salary for an officer at that time was $8.09 an hour.” 

During his hours away from the job, Waldon loves the outdoors. “Hunting, fishing, spearfishing, and metal detecting are my favorites,” he said.

“I appreciate this opportunity to move to Lieutenant and continue to serve our community,” He said.