Sioux Falls Police Chief Doug Barthel says a federal grant will allow his department to hire five additional officers, along with five who were being added already.

Barthel says the $625,000 COPS grant will be paid out over three years, and will cover about half the wages and benefits for the five officers:

The officers being hired will bring to 245 the number off sworn officers in the Sioux Falls Police Department.

Barthel says Sioux Falls was one of 1 300 agencies that applied. He says 215 were chosen to receive officers and the SFPD was the only department in South DFakota to receive a grant.

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