Six Butler police officers recently were promoted to higher ranks.

The promoted officers are:

John Johnson, from sergeant to lieutenant

Chad Rensel and Anthony Fatta, from patrol officers to lieutenants

Brian Grooms, David Villotti and Jeremy Walters, from patrol officers to sergeants.

“They were very deserving,” said Chief Ron Brown.

Deputy Chief Dave Adam also spoke favorably of the officers.

“They’re all good men,” he said. “They’re strong in what they do, they have good experience and we’re hoping for the best for them.”

Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson said that the means of promotion have recently changed to rely on civil service test results.

“In the old days it was who you knew,” he said. “And that’s not to take anything away from who was promoted on that system, but we recently changed to testing.”

Donaldson was glad for the promotions.

“It’s a big thing because we’d been without those ranks for most of the time I’ve been here,” he said. “We took the time to adopt those regulations and now those regulations must be followed to promote people.”

Currently, the Butler Police Department has 22 police officers. Three new officers are filling the void left by some of the recently promoted officers.

The department also has one more full-time position to fill. The department is budgeted for four part-time positions, though it is yet to be determined as to when those positions will be filled. Testing for full-time and part-time positions will take place April 1.