One Jefferson police officer learned two things last week. He learned he has what it takes to be hired by the Iowa State Patrol, and he learned that he prefers being a patrol officer in Jefferson.
The Jefferson city council held a special meeting Thursday to hire Shane Jones for the second time. The council had first hired him in March 2016. He began field training, attended the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, and was certified that December.Jones resigned from the JPD in January after receiving word he had been accepted into the Iowa State Patrol Academy. His last day on the job in Jefferson was Jan. 22. The ISP academy started Jan. 28.
Jones spent two days at the academy and called Jefferson police chief Mark Clouse to ask for his job back. Clouse was happy to oblige.
“I didn’t want to lose Shane in the first place. To get him back is awesome,” Clouse said after the council action Thursday.
Jones said after the meeting he made a personal decision to leave the Iowa State Patrol. He said he didn’t think he’d find the kinship with the ISP that he enjoyed with the JPD, and that he realized he’d lose criminal investigation as one of his job duties.
“I decided when I finished the academy in 2016 that I wouldn’t go back, and I had forgotten that,” he said. “I realized I had a good thing (in Jefferson) and I threw it away.”
He said he didn’t regret his two-day stint with the Iowa State Patrol because in being accepted into the ISP, he learned he was “good enough.” “If I hadn’t done it, I always would have wondered if I was good enough. Now I know that I am.”
Jones was rehired at pay grade 4, with an annual wage of $45,114 and a continuance of his initial contract with 14 months of service. He will have seniority over Andrew Chapman, hired in December, and Cole Jackson, hired in January. Jones is not eligible for the recently implemented sign-on bonus. He was though, moved back to new-hire level in accruing sick leave and vacation time. He’s on the JPD work schedule this week.
When Jones was hired the first time GCNO quoted Clouse as saying, “We’re excited to bring him into Jefferson. He’ll be a great fit not only for our department, but also for the city of Jefferson.”
Apparently, Clouse was right.
