Two new officers realize childhood dreams at swearing-in ceremony

For two new Bradenton Police Department officers, childhood dreams came true Wednesday.

Two new officers, Hannah Moise, 25, and Steven Kalchbrenner, 26, were sworn in by Mayor Wayne Poston on Wednesday afternoon at City Hall and joined the ranks of the Bradenton Police Department.

Moise and Kalchbrenner both recently graduated from the police academy and have wanted to be officers since they were young.

“I’ve wanted to a cop since I was 3 years old,” Moise said. “Something happened in the neighborhood, and I ran out of the house at 3 and tried to save everybody. I thought I was a police officer. My family’s teased me ever since.”

That moment set her on what is now her career path.

Kalchbrenner was also drawn to law enforcement as a young child. He went on to join the Army while taking classes, working toward his law enforcement career.

He liked the camaraderie and sense of purpose in the military and wanted to give back to his hometown of Bradenton.

Both knew they wanted to work for Bradenton Police Department after growing up here.

They said support of loved ones has been what helped them through school, the academy and will continue to help them in their new career. Kalchbrenner and Moise said they couldn’t have done it without their families.

“They help keep me focused and on the ball, always asking what’s going on with the training, how’s school going, everything like that. So they’re pretty involved with making sure I stay on top of studying and getting everything done and getting ready for the big final test and everything like that,” Kalchbrenner said.

Both officers chose their mothers to pin their badges during the ceremony.

Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan reminded the newest recruits to call their families and tell them they’re safe on the job.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Two new officers realize childhood dreams at swearing-in ceremony."