Richard Varner’s promotion to sergeant within the Linden Police Department was celebrated with friends, family and fellow law enforcement officers at city hall on June 5.

Chief Robert Alston’s speech centered on Varner’s accomplishments during his career and his overall work ethic and skills as an officer, including issuing a huge number of citations and recovering large amounts of illegal drugs found in vehicles.

Alston said that, at one point, he advised Varner to be more observant of a driver’s behavior and the contents of the car when issuing a citation. Varner developed that skill until it became second-nature to him, and his success as an officer grew.

“Officer Varner sees things that most people wouldn’t even pay any attention to and, for that, he became a very sharp officer,” Alston said.

Varner said he was honored to be promoted and he would perform well as sergeant.

“I grew up here, born and raised here. I’m going to do my job to the best of my ability to serve and protect the citizens of Linden,” Varner said.

He has been in law enforcement for the past ten years, initially serving in York until coming to the LPD in 2013. He was inspired to enter law enforcement by friends who were also in the field.

Sergeant Varner was pinned by his son, Tyquan Varner.