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New officer likes work in small town [UPDATED]
Published 10:28am Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Updated 10:51am Tuesday, June 12, 2012The Ashby police department employs only one full-time police officer, and Jeremy Obright took over the job in May.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for about 10 years, and I like the small town, rural atmosphere,” he said. “I can’t speak to what it’s like to work in a big city. I was born and raised in a small town, and that’s where I’ve worked.”
Obright grew up in Dent and graduated from Perham High School in 1995. After attending Alexandria Technical College for law enforcement training, he worked in Battle Lake and Henning, where he still works part-time.
“Patrolling in a small town lets me focus on properties and people in town,” Obright said. “It allows me to notice things that don’t belong.”
His primary duties include patrolling and responding to calls for service, but Obright said that being the only police officer in town forces him to cover a lot of different areas of law enforcement.
“Being in a small town allows me to work with many aspects of law: patrol, investigations and helping out with administration,” he said.
It’s going to be important for him to get to know people and become a part of the community, Obright said.
“Ashby is a small, close-knit community,” he said. “I’m going to continue to work and keep meeting people.”
Obright replaced previous Ashby police officer Matthew Cederberg, who is now working for the Fergus Falls police department.
“I want to bring my knowledge and experience to continue bringing prompt professional service to Ashby,” Obright said.
