Today the Bismarck Police Department held a ceremony to officially recognize two officers who were promoted effective May 1st.

Dwight Offerman was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He will be assigned to Patrol as a Shift Commander. Prior to his promotion he had most recently been a Sergeant on Patrol. He began his employment with the Bismarck Police Department on March 16, 1980. He has been assigned to Patrol, Investigations, Training and Administrative Services.

During his career he has been a Field Training Officer, Certified Instructor of Police Topics and Firearms Instructor. He was a member of the Special Incidents Unit for 16 years. In 1994 he received the Distinguished Service Award and in 2008 he was named Bismarck Police Officer of the Year.

Luke Gardiner was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He will be assigned to Patrol. He began his employment with the Bismarck Police Department on May 16, 2006. He has worked on Patrol and in Traffic and has most recently been working in Narcotics Investigations.

He has been a Field Training Officer, Certified Instructor of Police Topics, Drug Recognition Expert, Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Instructor, ARIDE Instructor, and member of the West Dakota SWAT Team.

The Bismarck Police Department has a current authorized strength of 109 sworn officers and 28 civilians.