Bishop joins HPD

June 17 marked Wyatt Bishop’s first day as an officer at Holyoke Police Department, and he’s thankful to be back home. Chief Doug Bergstrom is likewise thankful for the local addition to the department.

“I remember when he was in high school, so it’s nice to have a homegrown boy that knows the area and wants to come back to the area,” Bergstrom said.

Bishop grew up in Holyoke and is a 2014 graduate of Holyoke High School. His parents Nici and Brian Akey live here as well. Bishop’s first job in law enforcement was as a deputy at Phillips County Sheriff’s Office, where he stayed for a year and a half. He then took a job at Logan County Sheriff’s Office for about nine months. There he worked in the K-9 unit doing narcotics interdiction on the interstate.

He also applied for and was deputized to serve on the United States Marshals Service violent offender task force. The task force is made up of officers from both federal and local agencies, and Bishop will continue to serve in that capacity in Holyoke as well. The K-9, on the other hand, was not purchased by Holyoke Police Department, so Bishop will no longer have that particular duty.

Currently, Bishop and his family live in Haxtun. His wife, Katlin, works at Tempel Veterinary Service, and they have two children, Kyler, 4, and Oakley, 2 months. In recent storms, their house sustained some damage that needs to be repaired. Once that’s taken care of, though, they plan to put their house on the market and relocate to Holyoke as soon as possible.