The ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Public Safety team welcomed two new officers at a swearing-in ceremony attended by family, friends and colleagues last week.

β€œWe are very proud of our agency and the work that we do,” ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Police Chief Carl Metzger ’03MS says. β€œWe are making a difference in our community each and every day, and we are grateful that these two officers have chosen to serve ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½.”

The new officers will be assigned to the patrol division upon completion of their field-training program, where they will spend several weeks paired with senior officers to receive hands-on experience out in the field before graduating to solo patrol.

Meet the Officers

  • James Beam ’20 ’22MA comes to ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½PD after serving with the Orlando Police Department for about a year. He’s looking forward to being back on ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s campus, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science in 2020 and 2022, respectively. A military veteran originally from St. Augustine, Florida, James has traveled to 12 countries between two deployments with the Navy.
  • Chris Colvin, originally from Los Angeles, moved to Florida to attend Eastern Florida State College and later joined the Melbourne Police Department as a patrol and field training officer. He chose ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½PD for its focus on community policing and looks forward to meeting students and ensuring their first experience with law enforcement is a positive one. When not on patrol, he loves bass fishing and woodworking.

In addition to welcoming the latest public safety team members, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½PD also celebrated two individuals who were recently promoted.

Recently promoted ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½PD officers
Left to right: Deputy Chief Robin Griffin-Kitzerow, Agustin Gonzalez, Jeffrey Panter and Chief Carl Metzger ’03MS. (Photo courtesy of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Public Safety)
  • Sergeant Jeffrey Panter was promoted from corporal in June. Panter joined ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½PD in 2015, where he started as a patrol officer and worked his way through the ranks to become a detective. He has served on a federal task force and most recently served as a corporal on Bravo day squad. Since his promotion, he now oversees Delta night squad at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s main campus.
  • Corporal Agustin Gonzalez was promoted from officer first class in June. Gonzalez also joined ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½PD in 2015, where he started as a patrol officer and worked his way through the ranks to become a detective. He serves on the agency’s Special Response Team and supervises Bravo day squad for ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s main campus.

A live stream of the swearing-in ceremony can be viewed .