UND swears in new police officer

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

6-2011

Campus Unit

University of North Dakota

Abstract

José Solís became the newest member of the University of North Dakota Police Department on Tuesday, July 5, when he was sworn in by Alice Brekke, UND vice president for finance and operations.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about this University,” Solís said. “I’m hoping that I can especially impact minority students. If there’s something troubling them or it seems really hard, I’d let them know that as long as they keep pushing, they can achieve greatness in their lives.”The swearing-in ceremony at Twamley Hall was attended by University Police Chief Duane Czapiewski and other members of the department, as well as Solís’s fiancée and members of his immediate family.

A native of Moorhead, Minn., Solís graduated from the North Dakota Police Academy in Fargo. He is a criminal justice and sociology major at Minnesota State University in Moorhead. He also received his law enforcement certification at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake.

“It was actually a pretty tough process I went through,” he Solís said. “Meeting with the review panel was the hardest part for me. It was a really long process, but in the end was well worth it.”

With the addition of Solís and including the chief, the UND Police Department--which began modestly in 1951 with two officers on night duty only when UND numbered around 2000 students--has 12 sworn officers.

The Commission for the Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in 1992 granted national accredited status to the University of North Dakota Police Department, at the time only the fourth university police department in the country to be accredited.

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