Sheriff’s office announces new community officer position

By Brandi Makuski

The Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office has stepped up its community policing efforts, and this week announced the addition of a community officer position.

The role will be filled by Deputy Jared Mayer, a 12-year veteran of the PCSO. Though Sheriff Mike Lukas requested funding for six new positions in the department, the Portage Co. Board of Supervisors approved one.

Lukas said he chose to add a position to his patrol ranks because community policing is the most successful method of preventing crime.

“When you have officers out there in the community—when they’re visible and approachable—that makes a lot of difference,” Lukas said of the new role. “And it’s another opportunity to build relationships in a community.”

Mayer’s duties in the new role will be limited during the pandemic, Lukas said, but Mayer will begin holding dedicated “office hours” in the villages of Amherst and Rosholt, while rotating between Almond, Junction City, Bancroft, Polonia, Kellner, and other rural communities.

The public is invited to meet with Mayer if they have questions, comments, or concerns they would like addressed—or just to say hello.

“We’re people, too,” Lukas said. “Sometimes people forget that we’re just here to help.”

Mayer will be at the Amherst Village Hall, 160 Mill St. in Amherst, on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to noon. On Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon, Mayer will be at the Rosholt Village Hall/Public Library, 137 N. Main St., Rosholt. 

Mayer will rotate between Almond, Bancroft, Junction City, Kellner, and Polonia, on Thursdays.

For more information, or to schedule a meeting with Mayer, contact the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office at 715.346.1400.