Public service draws Jordan Fleharty to local police department

Jordan Fleharty has always been drawn to public service, and he will certainly have the opportunity to pursue that passion since officially starting as an officer with Holyoke Police Department on Friday, Dec. 17, after getting sworn in the day before. He will be done with field training at approximately the end of February.

He grew up in Sterling and moved to Phillips County in 2011. He said he loves the Holyoke community and that everyone in it seems to be smiling and happy.

“I’m glad I’m able to bring something new to the table,” he said. “I’m really happy to be here and assisting with what the community needs.”

Fleharty worked as a dispatcher at Phillips County Communications Center from 2013-16 and then with EMS in both the Holyoke and Haxtun ambulance services. He was a member of Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department from 2019-21.

Police Chief Doug Bergstrom said Fleharty is level-headed and noted that his experience with the types of critical incidents he’s handled as a dispatcher will be valuable. Bergstrom also said that as a dispatcher, Fleharty ensured police officers were safe through status checks and made sure other agencies were dispatched if necessary.

“A whole lot of things drew me toward it,” Fleharty said of his decision to become a police officer. He said that when he worked with Holyoke ambulance service, he got to work more closely with Bergstrom and Commander JR Myers. Watching them work helped influence his decision.

“Knowing who I have as partners,” he said of Bergstrom and Myers, “no matter what the situation may be, I’ve always got good people with me.”

Fleharty said he will bring people skills to his new position, and since he likes being around kids and helping them, he eventually wants to look into becoming a certified school resource officer, which requires additional training.

He has worked to help keep children safe before when he, along with Melissa Memorial Hospital, HPD and Phillips County Sheriff’s Office, helped coordinate a program that had a goal of preventing alcohol-related trauma in youth.

Fleharty has a wife and two children. He enjoys hiking and camping — especially in South Dakota — in his free time.