Officers Trent Casinger and Jonathan Laughlin recently were honored for their service.

Casinger was named Officer of the Year for 2023. Laughlin was named Most Improved Officer for the year.

“I want to thank K9 Officer Casinger for his ongoing enthusiasm, dedication and professionalism to the Eufaula Police Department and to the citizens of Eufaula,” Police Chief David Bryning said. “And I want to thank Officer Laughlin for his dedication and professionalism to the City.”

OFFICER OF THE YEAR 2023:

Trent Casinger

Officer Trent Casinger has been with the Eufaula Police Department since January of 2022. Since his employment Officer Casinger has strived to learn and perfect his training and education in narcotic detection and traffic enforcement.

Officer Casinger is very proactive in his traffic enforcement abilities and keeping the citizens of Eufaula safer by focusing on distracted and impaired drivers. He is always willing to step up and assist with any investigation or special operation. Officer Casinger has a great rapport with the community and has received several compliments from citizens who have gone out of their way to personally contact me to applaud his professionalism.

Officer Casinger has most recently accepted the position to become one of the new K9 handlers for the City of Eufaula. He and his K9 partner Kilo have been in training since December and will graduate with a CLEET narcotic certification in early February.

His decision to accept one of the two K9 Officer positions shows his continuing dedication to the citizens of Eufaula, as being a K9 handler is a 24-hour position. Handlers are responsible for the health, wellness and daily training with their canine partner even on their days off.

MOST IMPROVED OFFICER 2023:

Jonathan Laughlin

Officer Jonathan Laughlin started with the Eufaula Police Department in November of 2022. Officer Laughlin began working as an entry level Officer and began his Field Training Program with the Department. During that time Officer Laughlin was exposed to the ongoing daily tasks as a Police Officer. Those tasks included Department policies, traffic operations, investigations, patrol duties, community policing and numerous other requirements.

On May 12, 2023, Officer Laughlin entered the full-time CLEET academy. The CLEET academy encompasses over 600 hours of training and education.

Officer Laughlin excelled in the academy and graduated on Oct. 3, 2023 as a Certified Police Officer.

Since returning from the academy Officer Laughlin has excelled in his knowledge and professionalism.

Officer Laughlin is confident and educated in his duties and continues to show his dedication to the citizens of Eufaula.

He is enthusiastic in his career and has a vast knowledge base of the community as he is from the Eufaula area. Officer Laughlin’s personal knowledge has helped identify and solve several cases within this department.