Kankakee Times

The Village of Manteno Police Department promoted one if its own to the rank of sergeant during a city council meeting earlier this month.

Police Chief Alan Swinford announced the promotion of Officer Christopher Reynolds at the council's Dec. 5 board meeting. Reynolds, whom Swinford called "number one on our list" of candidates, replaces a sergeant who retired from the department last month. He moves from the Investigations department to the patrol division.

Reynolds has been with the Manteo police department for nearly seven years, Swinford said in the presentation. In that time, Reynolds has served "as a patrol officer, a detective, on the FBI task force, as a countywide SWAT member, a countywide Honor Guard member and a countywide trainer.

"With all that experience, he's going to be hard to replace in investigations, but he'll bring that knowledge and experience and leadership that he's gained back to the patrol division, which is the backbone of any police department," Swinford said.

Reynolds was promoted to the position after successfully passing a supervisor test, given by the department every three years and consisting of a written exam, an interview exam and department points, according to Swinson.

Swinford said Reynolds "didn't wait to get promoted to show leadership."

"Promoting (Reynolds) was an easy decision," Swinford said, "because he's been showing informal leadership for years, which is very important in a department our size."

Reynolds was sworn in by the village board and thanked his family, the board, and the police department for the promotion.