From left, Jaden Thames, Katlyn Tarr and Matt Miller pose outside the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office after graduating from the Butte College Law Enforcement Academy and officially joining the department earlier this month. Photo courtesy of Sutter County Sheriff’s Department 

SUTTER COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office recognized three new deputies earlier this month following their graduation from the Butte College Law Enforcement Academy.

On Dec. 5, the department congratulated Katlyn Tarr, Jaden Thames and Matt Miller on completing the academy program. The recruits officially joined the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office and, on Dec. 9, appeared on 93Q Radio to introduce themselves to the community while spreading a bit of holiday cheer.

Katlyn Tarr grew up in Colusa County and, after graduating high school, attended Chico State, where she earned a degree in parks and natural resource management.

“Within that time, I spent a lot of time with the fish and wildlife side in the state parks,” said Tarr. “But I'm a people person so I wanted to better serve my community, so I thought that the Sheriff's Department was going to be a great fit, so I bit the bullet and went for it.”

Tarr said the academy lasted roughly six months and was not something she would describe as easy. After completing the rigorous program, she said she is looking forward to connecting with the community, whether on the street, in the classroom or in the office.

Her favorite Christmas movie is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and her favorite holiday memory involves spending time with family and saving her stocking for last, a tradition she plans to continue.

Jaden Thames is originally from south Sacramento, but after his parents’ divorce his mom moved to the Yuba City area. After graduating high school, Thames played college baseball at Cosumnes River College before transferring to Yuba College. From there, he accepted a scholarship opportunity that took him to Oklahoma.

“I ended up not liking it, came back, and picked up a couple jobs just here and there like Target,” said Thames. “Then I decided I wanted to join law enforcement, so I got a job at the casino at Thunder Valley working security. Then I applied to Sutter County and they picked me up.”

Thames now lives in Olivehurst with his grandmother and has a twin brother who also works in law enforcement, serving in Fresno County.

“The original plan after baseball was that we would go into law enforcement together,” said Thames. “Hopefully we’ll meet back together at some point.”

Thames’ favorite Christmas movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas, and his favorite holiday memory involves eating Rollo candies in bed with his twin brother as children.

Matt Miller was born and raised in Sutter County and graduated from Yuba City High School in 2013. His decision to pursue law enforcement was largely influenced by his brother, who is a firefighter.

“I was serving the community already in the ag industry and just felt like I wanted to serve my community further in a different way,” said Miller. “My brother encouraged me, he’s a firefighter. I saw how much fun being a first responder was and all the excitement and helping people and I just really wanted to be a part of that.”

Miller said his goal is to help bring more positivity to the public perception of law enforcement.

“Working in law enforcement you're often there on everyone's worst day, so you want to be there on their worst day and try to leave a positive impact on them.”

His favorite Christmas movie is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and his favorite holiday memory involves receiving a PlayStation 2 and playing Madden and MLB games with his brothers.