(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Police Department has a new chaplain on staff. Police Lieutenant Jeremiah Johnson says the role has been filled by Father Mike Tess.
“He run’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Church here in town and he’s also a chaplain for some other police departments…and he also does some part time work teaching,” says Johnson. “He’s a good guy.”
Chaplains serve a variety of different purposes for a police agency but most notably as a counselor, confidant, or just an open ear to talk through any issues or concerns with. Johnson says Father Tess is always available if an officer needs to call him.
“And he’ll always come in for us if we ever need him…so, if there’s a situation where a citizen just experienced a loss in their family and they do want to talk with someone we can call him up and he will come in and respond,” says Johnson. “We have him come along on ride-alongs when he’s available and he actually interacts with citizens…he speaks Spanish. He’s always available to us in an emergency or when his specialty is needed.”
Johnson says their department has had a number of different chaplains throughout the years as they get calls to lead churches outside of the Beaver Dam area.
