T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshalltown Police Department (MPD) Capt. Sadie Weekley, front and center wearing black tie, was sworn into her new position on Wednesday morning at the combined Police/Fire building. Weekley, pictured alongside her MPD colleagues, is the first female captain in the department’s history.

When Sadie Weekley first came to the Marshalltown Police Department (MPD) all the way back in 2007 after a few years serving the city of Toledo, she was intrigued by the possibility of moving into a leadership role, but she admitted that it wasn’t necessarily part of her initial plan. On Wednesday morning, surrounded by colleagues, friends and city officials at the combined Police/Fire Building, Weekley made history when she was sworn in by Judge Jennifer Miller as the first female captain in the department’s history.

The promotion comes as new Chief Chris Jones, who previously served as the captain of support services, settles into his new role, and Weekley will move into that position while fellow Capt. Kiel Stevenson continues to oversee the operations division. When asked what led her to pursue such a path, she pointed to the leaders who paved the way.

“I had good mentors and people that were helping me throughout my career, and I wanted to do that for others. And when the opportunity came, I thought I would retry and see if it was something that I was going to be able to do,” she said.

Jones, who has served the MPD since 1996, described Weekley as someone who complements him in areas where he feels he has shortcomings and praised her ability to build relationships along with the respect she has earned within the Marshalltown community.

“Just having her, this builds a great team for us, the leadership team in the department with Capt. Stevenson. We’re going to do great things here,” Jones said. “She’s been doing great things her entire career.”

Stevenson started with the department in 2005 and called Weekley someone he’s relied on “forever” and worked closely with throughout the time they’ve both been MPD officers. He also noted that she emerged from a strong field of candidates as the top choice to fill the role.

“One of Sadie’s things is she’s been reliable throughout her entire career. When you call her, she’s happy to help. She’s happy to come in. She’s happy to do whatever needs to be done,” Stevenson said. “The thing is, we can give an assignment and walk away from it knowing it’s gonna get done. You don’t have to hold her hand… It’s just that reliability and dedication to the job. She’s just got a vast amount of experience that helps us in this position.”

With the staff and fellow leaders she’ll be working alongside, Weekley feels she’ll have an “easy job,” in her own words, and she’s excited to take the MPD to new heights in the years to come.

“These guys are gonna help me along the way, I know that. I’m nervous, but I know I have them to rely on, and then just helping the new people come up and give them as much support and leadership that I can is what I’m looking forward to,” she said.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.