On Thursday, Sept. 5, Helper City Mayor Lenise Peterman and the Helper City Council appointed Sean Draper as the Chief of Police for the city. Now with a little over a month on the job, Castle Country Radio sat down with Chief Draper to talk about his experiences so far, community relations and what is coming up for the Helper Police Department.

Opening up our conversation, we asked Draper what emotions he felt when it was announced that he was going to be the new Chief of the HPD,” It was exciting, but nerve-wracking,” explained the Chief,” I think that’s probably the biggest thing is nerve-wracking.”

Moving on, we asked Draper to reflect on what his first month in the position has been like. “It’s been hard, it’s been a lot.” Draper explained,” Right now I’m still patrolling in addition to my duties as the chief. And that’s a lot to take on all at once.”

During the initial interviews for the position, Chief Draper laid out a vision for the department to Mayor Peterman. We asked him what that vision looked like and how it has been shaping up. “The biggest thing is I think that the Helper City Police Department has had a negative  opinion about them for a long time. Whether that be, we’re just a speed trap to some people or the perception we don’t do anything. So my goal is to bring attention to what we do,” Draper continued,” My officers have done some pretty awesome things in the past several years and no one’s known about them. So my goal is to bring attention to what we have been doing in the community.”

One of the aspects Draper wanted to highlight is the department’s work within the schools in Helper. “We were invited to doughnuts with cops a couple of weeks ago at Sally Mauro Elementary, and that was enjoyable for all of us. So our entire department went to that and I think they all had fun. So that’s a step in the right direction.”

Recently, the HPD was in the news due to Officer Lara Olsen being instrumental in a drug bust where authorities stopped 90 pounds of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia from making its way into Carbon and Emery Counties. We asked Chief Draper what it meant to him to have such a competent staff working with him,” It means a lot. It’s nice to be able to trust them and trust that they can make good decisions and lawful decisions. So I don’t have to worry about things going awry when I’m not around.” 

To stay up-to-date with the Helper Police Department, you can follow the organization on Facebook.