(left) Lt. Begoon and son Easton, (right) Sgt. Bloch and wife Dana.
Two officers with the Benton Police Department received promotions during a ceremony at the department on Monday. Chief Kirk Lane said officers Hunter Begoon and Clayton Bloch earned their promotions through diligent effort to make the department and community safer and exceptional.
Begoon was promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant and will assume the duties of a patrol division lieutenant. Lt. Begoon began working for the Benton Police Department on Oct. 25, 2004, as a cadet. In October of 2006, he was sworn in as an officer and assumed duties of a patrol officer. In December of 2014, Lt. Begoon was assigned to the Benton Interstate Criminal Enforcement Patrol (BICEP) program as a K-9 handler. In January of 2016, he was promoted to sergeant in the patrol division.
Lt. Begoon received the 2014 Benton Police Department’s Meritorious Service Award. He also has been awarded the Top Gun Award three times – in 2009, 2011 and in 2013. He also received national awards from the National Criminal Enforcement Association, including the 2014 Largest Street Level Marijuana Seizure, the Seizure of the Month award in October 2014, and the 2015 Largest Street Level Cocaine Seizure award.
Bloch was promoted from Officer to Sergeant and will assume the duties of a patrol division sergeant. Sgt. Bloch started his career in law enforcement at the Benton Police Department in October of 2006 when he was hired as a Reserve Officer. He was hired as a full-time officer in February of 2008.
Sgt. Bloch joined the department’s Accident Reconstruction Team in 2010 and became a certified Field Training Officer in 2011. He was awarded the Officer of the Quarter in 2012 and awarded the City of Benton’s Employee of the Month for October 2013.
Sgt. Bloch has worked in the department’s Criminal Investigation Division since December of 2012. While working in CID, the division was awarded the department’s Unit Achievement Award in 2013. Sgt. Bloch has completed numerous training classes in various types of investigations.