11 officers hired by Hickory Police Department (2024)

Eleven Hickory police officers and one police sergeant were formally sworn in last week in front of their fellow officers and families at the Hickory Police Department.

The Hickory Police Department is proud to welcome the following officers to the HPD family:

Officer Jordan Hayes is from Connelly Springs and graduated from East Burke High School in 2005. He earned his associate degree in criminal justice at Western Piedmont Community College. He attended Basic Law Enforcement Training (B.L.E.T.) at Catawba Valley Community College in fall of 2023.

Officer Elijah Patton is from Morganton. He graduated from Patton High School in 2017 and attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College in spring of 2023.

Officer Nicholas Kidd is from Lenoir where he attended West Caldwell High School. He graduated with a bachelor’s in criminology and sociology at co*ker University in South Carolina. He attended B.L.E.T. at Western Piedmont Community College in spring of 2023.

Officer Joseph Hart is from Bethlehem and graduated from Alexander Central High School in 2014. He attended Lee University in Tennessee where he graduated in 2017, and later attended B.L.E.T. at Catawba Valley Community College in fall of 2023.

Officer Benjamin Coffey is a Hickory native. He graduated from Fred T. Foard High School in 2013 and attended B.L.E.T. at Catawba Valley Community College in fall of 2023.

Officer Matthew Wendell is from Mooresville and graduated from Mooresville High School in 2020. He is currently enrolled with Appalachian State University and on track to receive his bachelor’s degree in May of 2024. He graduated from Appalachian State’s B.L.E.T program in August of 2023.

Master Police Officer Carlos De Los Santos is originally from Conroe, Texas. He graduated from Maiden High School in 2005. He is currently enrolled in Catawba Valley Community College’s Criminal Justice program. He attended B.L.E.T. at Catawba Valley Community College in fall of 2023.

Officer Christopher Dunn is from Lenoir and graduated from Hibriten High School in 2016. He earned his associate degree at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in 2019. He attended Catawba Valley Community College’s B.L.E.T. program in the fall of 2023.

Officer J’Lendrick Faison is originally from Rocky Mount. He graduated from Nash Central High School in 2017 and earned his bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University in 2022. He attended Catawba Valley Community College’s B.L.E.T program in the spring of 2023.

Officer Chelsea Adkins was born in West Virginia and raised in Hickory. She graduated from St. Stephens High School in 2014, and attended Catawba Valley Community College’s B.L.E.T program in fall of 2023.

Officer Kelly Bollinger is from Morganton and graduated from T.C. Robertson Hickory School in Asheville in 2016. He has served five years active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps and attended Western Piedmont Community College’s B.L.E.T program in the fall of 2023.

Sgt. Cody Sutton was also recognized for his promotion to Sergeant during the ceremony. Sutton was born in Asheville and later moved to Morganton where he attended Freedom High School. In 2013 he was accepted to the Burke Middle College program where he graduated in 2015. Sutton earned his bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from Western Carolina University where he graduated in May of 2018. In 2019, Sutton attended the Western Piedmont Community College B.L.E.T. program and was sworn in as an officer at the Hickory Police Department in May of that year.

During his career at HPD, Sutton has served as a field training officer, training several of HPD’s new recruits and is currently a member of the Special Operations Team. He has also served as an investigator in HPD’s Criminal Investigations Division. As an investigator he worked on a variety of cases including property crimes, financial crimes, and violent crimes. In 2023, he earned both his general instructor certification and his law enforcement Intermediate certification through the North Carolina Justice Academy. Sutton is currently assigned to the Patrol Division.