As of June 2, Lance Bateman is the new Roswell Chief of Police, KOB reported.
He retired briefly from the Mexico State Police before accepting the chief's position in Roswell. The City Council unanimously approved him for the position. Bateman has more than 20 years of experience, which included serving as a commander for state police where he was one of the first officers on scene of the 2014 Berrendo Middle School shooting, the station said. A 13-year-old boy shot two students in the middle school gymnasium, seriously injuring them, acording to a CBS news report. He later pleaded who pleaded no contest to charges and was sentenced to confinement in state custody until he turns 21, the network said.
“We all have one goal we want to live in a safe community," Bateman said. "The police officers want that, the community wants that, and I look forward to seeing what we can do here."
The Berrendo Middle School shooting changed him as an officer, which even shaped one of his goals as he steps into his new role, Bateman said. “I’ve had a meeting with the superintendent already by phone and I have a meeting here in the next couple weeks," Bateman told KOB. "His goal is the same as mine, to make sure we have a safe environment. What we are going to do is integrate more officers into the school system. Right now, we have two School Officers (SROs). I want to expand that to four full-time hopefully starting with the next year."
He plans to focus more on officer retention and recruitment by adding 13 officers to the force.
“We have positions to fill, so we are going to be recruiting hard and some of the things we are looking at is retention and making sure our morale is good, and they want to stay," he told KOB.