Four New Officers Sworn In By Cocoa Police Chief Mike Cantaloupe
By Space Coast Daily // March 22, 2016
Three Have Previous Law Enforcement Experience
BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – Chief Mike Cantaloupe administered the oath of office to four new police officers on Monday during a ceremony at City Hall, according to a release from the Cocoa Police Department.
The officers must complete a field-training program before being assigned to solo duty.
Three of the four hires have had previous law enforcement experience and will be “fast tracked” to solo patrol duties within a few weeks, the release stated.
“We are very fortunate to have these new officers joining our ranks,” Cantaloupe said in the release.
“I am confident they will do great things for our community.”
The new officers are:
• Michael Cox, 29, a 2005 graduate of Titusville High who later graduated from the St. John’s River State College in St. Augustine with a law enforcement certification. This will be is first job in law enforcement.
• Josh Roane, 26, is a 3-year veteran of the Fort Pierce Police Department who recently moved to Melbourne. He is from Port St. Lucie, and graduated from Indian River State College Criminal Justice Academy in 2013.
• Josh Hedleston, 32, was a deputy with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and a former SWAT and security forces officer with the Kennedy Space Center. He has more than 7 ½ years of law enforcement experience. He is from Merritt Island and graduated from the Valencia Community College Criminal Justice Academy in 2007. He is married with two children.
• Ben Landis, 34, is a Melbourne native who graduated from the Florida Air Academy. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served two tours of duty in Iraq in 2002 and 2004. He joined the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in 2007 and has more than 8 years of law enforcement experience.
