October 2020 Employee of the Month - Austin Lerwill

Police Department - Austin Lerwill

Officer Austin Lerwill is being recognized as our October 2020 Employee of the Month. In the words of a  member of the police department, “He is probably one of the most genuine and kind people you’ll meet.” Family is extremely important to him, and he is very devoted to them, as well as his job. He and his wife, Talyr, have been married for 4 years and they adopted a little girl from the Marshall Islands a couple years ago and now are expecting a baby boy any day.

From his early childhood, Austin wanted to be a police officer, but it was in high school when he knew it was his career path. He participated in our high school internship, which at the time consisted of ride alongs with officers 1 or 2 times a week throughout the school term. He set his sights specifically on Santaquin City’s police department and then worked to make it happen. Jenna, who works in the police department said about Austin, “In dealing with the public, no matter how difficult or stressful the situation may be, Austin is always calm and patient and respectful to all parties involved. He is very proactive, goal oriented and has a great work ethic. He is overall just an amazing person and is very deserving of this award.”

When asked what the best part of his job is, Austin says it’s when he can help a person or family without it involving an arrest or jail time. Those are the experiences that make this very difficult job worth it. He also stated that he appreciates serving in a great community who support the local police.

Some of you may have seen an image of Officer Lerwill recently on Facebook. An employee of the city caught him helping a little girl who has Down’s Syndrome. She does not speak well, and Spanish is her first language; therefore, learning her name and where she lived was difficult. On this morning, she woke up with a little cold but didn’t want to stay home from school. Her Mom insisted she stay home but she slipped away without Mom knowing and ended up at the Holiday Gas Station. Officer Lerwill stayed with her and gave her some treats until it was figured out where she belonged and safely returned her to her Mom.

Thank you Officer Lerwill for your dedicated service to Santaquin City and our citizens!