The Ohio University Police Department has added two new officers to its department.
Both Darren “DJ” Olexa and Evan Wilkof were sworn into OUPD in early February.
Olexa is still enrolled in the National Guard. Wilkof, however, should be a familiar face on campus, as he was previously employed by event services on campus, OUPD Lt. Tim Ryan said.
Olexa and Wilkof are currently attending the police academy and are both set to graduate this summer.
While at the academy, Olexa and Wilkof will learn about the Ohio Revised Code, self-defense, firearms and other basic functions of the job, Ryan said. The whole process is about five months along.
Graduation is not the end of the training process, however.
“Once they graduate from the academy, they’ll come back here and have roughly (a) 10 week field training program where they’re paired with field training officers to learn how it’s done at OUPD,” Ryan said.
New officers earn $21.20 per hour while in the police academy, then $24.94 per hour after graduation, Ryan said. Overtime is time-and-a-half of the hourly rate.
According to the the written agreement between Ohio University and The Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labour Council, “any employee entitled to pay for overtime work may elect to take compensatory time off at the rate of (one and a half) hours for each hour of overtime in lieu of cash payment.”
That balance cannot exceed 120 hours.
Officers immediately start to earn vacation time of two weeks per year, according to the OUPD recruitment page.
