Kittanning Police Chief Bruce Mathews (left) welcomes new Officer Philip Young to the department.
KITTANNING - A Manorville man has been selected as the newest member of the police department in Kittanning.
32-year-old Philip Young recently joined with the other eight full-time officers to provide protection in the Borough and also Applewold.
“I’m very proud to be with the Kittanning Police Department. It’s a great community. A great group of officers already work in the borough here. It’s great to work along side them. I look forward to helping the community and interacting with everyone that lives here.”
Prior to police work, Young was a mechanic. He attended the Police Academy at IUP and also attended the Community College of Allegheny County. He assumed his first part-time position as a police officer in 2005.
“I have worked at Ford City, Manor, North Buffalo, West Deer, and Freeport.”
Philip Young is now an officer at the Kittanning Police Department.
Young said he feels privileged to work under seasoned officers.
“There’s a lot of good guys here. A lot of experience. I believe it is a great opportunity for me to work with guys with that experience level.”
Young said that while he appreciates the opportunity, it is also a challenge for him to integrate into the culture established in the department.
“The hardest on signing on is trying to figure out the way everybody works. These guys have worked together for so long. (It’s difficult) being the newer guy in the department when these guys have a great chemistry already.”
Young is also a veteran and continues serving in the Army Reserves.
“I signed up for active duty Army in 2007 and served until 2011. I was an Army Infantry. From 2011 until today, I am in the Army Reserves. I am now a military police officer from 2011 until today. I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington and then served overseas in Iraq, and Cuba.”
Young said Cuba was a good experience for him.
“Cuba was a beautiful experience. The Caribbean Ocean was right there. The locals that worked on our post were very accepting of us. Cuba over all was a great experience for me.”
Young will work rotating shifts in the police department.