Cottonwood Police Department has a new face on the force after Police Chief Brian Frudenthal swore in Kellen Burnes on Wednesday, July 23 as a lateral transfer from his six years working as police officer in the Copperas Cove Police Department and later as a patrol deputy with the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office, both in Texas.
“He recently moved to the Prescott Valley area, and he decided to put an application into the CPD, and we hired [Burnes] about a month ago,” CPD Sgt. Chad Sinn said. “But because he’s a lateral applicant, it takes a few weeks to go through the state … and then just a few days ago, he passed his written exam with the state of Arizona, and we’re able to swear him in yesterday.”
Burnes started field training on Friday, July 25 and will be working on weekends for the next three to four months with his field training officer.
“We’re lucky to have [Burnes] in the department,” Sinn said. “He has great character. He’s a family man. He has several daughters, his wife, his father, who also lives in Prescott Valley near him,” Sinn said. “He’s actually looking to build a home out there near his father. [Also] his father was, he was just over 30 years at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and was kind of steering him towards law enforcement. And before choosing a career in law enforcement, he decided to serve his country in the U.S. Army for four to five years.”
