Two new Lathrop Police patrol officers are officially on the streets.

They are part of five new officers the department is hiring this year to bring their ranks up to 40 sworn officers for a city of 33,000 people.

Manteca, by comparison, has 75 officers for a city on the cusp of 90,000 residents.

According to the agency, two new lateral hires – Officer Vatche Tatarian and Officer Myles Richter – recently began patrol operations in the city as part of the department.

Tatarian, according to the agency, spent the last three years working for the BART Police Department prior to spending four years working for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department where he was a patrol deputy and a Coroner’s Office detective.

Richter is joining the Lathrop Police Department from the Merced Police Department where he spent the past six years working as a field training officer and serving residents as a part of the bomb squad.

The new officers will help provide command staff flexibility in scheduling on the various shifts required to provide law enforcement services to one of California’s fastest-growing cities. Currently officers needed for overtime or holdovers are being paid overtime wages, making the decision to hire additional officers to supplement the existing workforce and provide flexibility a move that the council made to maximize efficiency.

For additional information, visit the Lathrop Police Department’s website at https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/police or call 209.647.6400.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.