City welcomes new CCPD officer Jordan Smith

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

The hustle and bustle of a big city with a picturesque vista of Mount Rainier as a backdrop.

That’s the Seattle and Pacific Northwest region of Washington state that drew Jordan Smith 2,000 miles away from his home state of Illinois.

He can mark that one off his bucket list.

Now the newly sworn-in Charles City police officer and his wife, Whitney, can call the Midwest home once again.

“We wanted to move away from the Midwest. We were young adults,” said Smith. “After living in Seattle for a year, we both decided that we liked the small-town feel. We both missed the Midwestern vibe, or I guess you could say the Midwestern culture.”

It’s the return to their roots, as well as Smith’s passion for law enforcement, that has led them to Charles City.

He said he plans on being here awhile.

“I kind of have a sense of duty to the city and the community,” said Smith. “I plan on sticking around for a little bit and plan on making a career out of it.”

Smith, 26, was born and raised in the northwest Chicago suburb of Lake Zurich, Illinois. Smith said his wife is an Iowa native that grew up in Dunlap, located in western Iowa along the Nebraska border. The married couple said it was a dream to live in a city out west near the coast for a year.

“Now we realize we like the small town. We kind of like the community-orientated feel. We like to get involved with where we live,” said Smith. “We’re buying a house right now.”

Smith and his wife are also looking at churches in the area and have already signed up for a membership at the local YMCA.

He said it was a dream of his to become a police officer.

“For me, I’ve always wanted to pursue it,” said Smith.

Smith graduated from Lake Zurich High School in 2011 and received a degree in psychology and criminal justice studies at Iowa State University in 2015.

He has spent four years in the Army National Guard and served in the 506th Military Police Company out of Camp Murray, Washington. He was deployed to Afghanistan for nine months from August 2018 until this past June.

After that tour of duty, Smith sent out applications and resumes to police departments, hoping to join a force somewhere and become a full-time police officer.

“Between June and a week-and-a-half ago, I didn’t have a job. So, I’m pretty appreciative that Chief (Hugh) Anderson was willing to hire me,” said Smith.

Smith said he has more than five years of security and public safety work experience.

His next step in fulfilling the requirements to be a police officer is to attend a police academy. He will either be sent to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo for that training or to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) located at Camp Dodge in Johnston. Smith said the training lasts eight weeks in Waterloo and 13 weeks at ILEA.

So far, Smith and his wife feel right at home in Charles City.

“I’ve been telling all the guys down at the department that I’m liking it so far. I feel like getting settled in and planting some roots and staying here for the long haul,” he added.

In other CCPD news, Lt. Brad Worrall, who has been a member of the department for 10 years, received a certificate for loyal and dedicated service to Charles City at a City Council meeting last month. Seven of those years have been spent as lieutenant on the force.

“Brad Worrall’s been a very vital part of our department now for quite some years,” said Chief Anderson. “He came here and worked himself up very quickly through the ranks to become lieutenant. It’s not something that normally happens this quickly.”

Anderson also announced that Officer Bryce Bilharz has accepted a position with the Iowa State Patrol.