Four Sworn in as ECU Police Officers | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Morgan Tilton, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

    The East Carolina University Police Department gained four new officers as Adrian Baker, Jonathan Bryant, Meagan Johnson and Megan Johnson were sworn in during a ceremony held on Wednesday, June 21 at the Greenville Centre.

    Joined by friends, family and fellow officers, the newest members took an oath before everyone and received their badge.

    Lt. Chris Sutton gave advice to the recruits in saying, "Service is the rent that we pay for the privilege to live on this Earth," a quote made famous by Shirley Anita Chisholm.

    "That's a quote that I use when teaching students as they go through their basic law enforcement training (BLET)," Sutton said.


Four new ECU Police officers were sworn in alongside their family and friends on June 21. (Photos by Cliff Hollis)

    Bearing the same name with different spellings (and no relation), Meagan and Megan Johnson graduated from ECU with bachelors' degrees in criminal justice. Meagan Johnson completed BLET training at Beaufort County Community College, and worked two years with the Greene County Sheriff's Office before joining ECU.

    "It's good to be back. I feel like it'll be a really good fit for me and I love everybody on the staff already," Meagan Johnson said. "I've wanted to be in law enforcement ever since I was little."

    Megan Johnson completed law enforcement training at Pitt Community College. She holds an associate degree from Louisburg College.

    After the ceremony, Bryant explained that it was a great feeling to be sworn in. He completed law enforcement training at Craven Community College, where he also earned an associate degree in business. Bryant worked during the past year with the Winterville Police Department. He is also pursuing a bachelor's degree in business at ECU.


J. Bryant and his sister Latara Johnson listen to Vickie Joyner during the swearing in.

    Baker worked with the Kinston Department of Public Safety two years before joining ECU and completed basic law enforcement training at Lenoir Community College.

    "They're going to be great assets for the police department and when we have great assets for the police department, then we have great assets that we can offer to East Carolina University," Sutton said.

    "The service aspect for the job that we do sometimes gets overlooked," he added. "We need to be mindful of the service role that we play within our communities and never feel like we're above or beyond being able to offer someone help."