HPD swears in new officers, sergeants
Sixteen Hickory Police Officers and four Sergeants were formally sworn-in last week in front of their fellow officers and families at Hickory City Hall.
“Thank you for choosing this career, all of you. I’m honored to serve with you,” Hickory Police Chief Reed Baer said to the officers during the ceremony on Tuesday.
The Hickory Police Department is proud to welcome the following officers:
Officer Dylan Soles graduated from Fred T. Foard High School and then Appalachian State University. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College. He is a Hickory native and previously worked in dispatch for Catawba County.
Officer Timothy Cramer is a Hudson native and graduated from South Caldwell High School. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College. He previously worked security at a state prison.
Officer Austin Steele is originally from Taylorsville and graduated from Alexander Central High School. He attended B.L.E.T. at Catawba Valley Community College and he also worked as a welder.
Officer Matthew Elliot is from Valdese and graduated from Jimmy C. Draughn High School. He then attended Catawba Valley Community College where he completed his B.L.E.T. He served four years in the U.S. ARMY.
Officer Mujahid Turner is from Chapel Hill and graduated from East Chapel Hill High School and then the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He previously worked for Fed Ex. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College.
Officer Steven Lail is a Hickory native and graduated from Saint Stephens High School. He served three years in the U.S. ARMY. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College.
Officer James Swearingen is originally from Blair, South Carolina, where he graduated from Richard Winn Academy in Winnsboro, South Carolina. He attended Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, and later B.L.E.T. at Catawba Valley Community College.
Officer Seth Carter is from Taylorsville and graduated from Hickory Career and Arts Magnet. He served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps and then completed B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College.
Master Police Officer Daniel Peacock is a Hickory native and attended East Burke High School. He attended Appalachian State University and then completed B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont.
Officer Elijah Adkins is from Valdese and graduated from Jimmy C. Draughn High School. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College.
Officer Chad Fredrickson is from Morganton and graduated from East Burke High School. He previously worked as a mechanic and then attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College.
Officer Alex Chapman is a Hickory native and graduated from Bunker Hill High School. He previously worked for the Department of Corrections. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College.
Officer Nickolas Nieves is originally from Mickleton, New Jersey, and graduated from Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. He previously worked for Chick-fil-A before attending B.L.E.T. at Catawba Valley Community College.
Officer Richard Wolf is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, and attended Penn Foster High School in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Asher College in Las Vegas. He attended B.L.E.T. at Catawba Valley Community College and previously worked in IT for Amazon.
Officer Austin Gross is from Calvert County, Maryland. He graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. He attended Lenoir-Rhyne University and is currently enrolled at Gardner-Webb University. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College.
Master Police Officer Michael Ollis is a native of Morganton and graduated from Freedom High School in 1998. He studied for his Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice at Western Piedmont Community College, where he also attended B.L.E.T. Ollis previously worked at the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked for more than 20 years before coming to HPD.
Four Hickory Police Department officers were also recognized for their promotions to Sergeant.
Sergeant Daniel Nash is originally from Poughkeepsie, New York, and he graduated from Holly Springs High School in Wake County. He attended Western Carolina University and then graduated from B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College. He began working with the Hickory Police Department in 2017. He was selected as a member of the Special Operations Team in July 2019.
Sergeant Adrian Totillo graduated from Bunker Hill High School in 2013, attended Catawba Valley Community College for Criminal Justice, and then graduated from B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College in 2015 before joining HPD. Totillo is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and moved to North Carolina in 2007, when he was 12 years old.
Sergeant Marcus Chapman graduated from Freedom High School and from B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College in 2004. He started as a trainee at HPD in 2008 and was sworn-in in July of that year. In 2020, he joined HPD’s Criminal Investigations Division. In July 2019, he received his Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate and was named the Hickory Elks Officer of the Year in 2019 and 2022.
Sergeant Robert Helton is from Burke County and a graduate of East Burke High School and Appalachian State University. He is a U.S. ARMY veteran and was sworn-in as a police officer in June 2014. In December 2019, he was promoted to Master Police Officer and in June 2020, he received his Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate.
