Libby Mayor Brent Teske swore in Cody DeWitt, 29, as Libby’s newest police officer at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

DeWitt, whose first day was Wednesday, begins 12 weeks of training at Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena on Jan. 7, said Police Chief Scott Kessel.

DeWitt will then return to Libby for three months of field training, after which “he’ll be up to speed and on his own serving the citizens of Libby,” Kessel told the council.

“He’s going to be a good asset to this city,” he said.

DeWitt, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2007 to 2009 and most recently was a detention officer with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, said in a phone interview Wednesday that he’s wanted to work in law enforcement since he was a kid.

“I guess I’m cliched like that,” he said.

Passionate about hunting and fishing, DeWitt said at first he considered being a game warden until those he rode along with suggested it might kill his passions for the sports.