VALLEY — Valley Police Department’s newest officer, Brooke Williams, is pleased to be giving back to her hometown.

“I have always wanted to be a police officer in Valley,” she said. “It’s a way of returning a favor to those who protected me when I was growing up.”

The daughter of Scott and Christy Petty, Brooke is a 2014 graduate of Valley High and a 2018 graduate of Point University, where she earned a degree this past May in criminal justice with a double minor in biblical studies and psychology.

She’s been with the Valley Police Department since Sept. 4.

Williams has been spending much of her time getting accustomed to the routines of the job such as patrolling the neighborhoods with her training officer, either Corporal Terry Daniel or Corporal Jamie Hammond. She will soon be going to the Northeast Alabama Police Academy in Anniston, Ala. to be certified as a police officer.

“I have really enjoyed my time here so far,” she said. “I am very much looking forward to a career in law enforcement. I want to be able to handle whatever comes my way.”

Valley officers have approximately 12 square miles to cover in the city limits and around five more square miles in the police jurisdiction. Valley Police Department has most of the southeast corner of Chambers County to cover. There are only 10 or 12 houses outside the police jurisdiction in this area and that’s covered by the Chambers County Sheriff’s Department.