Major Hajek has served the Riley County Police Department since Oct. 28, 2001. He is a graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Sociology, with an emphasis in Criminal Justice. He is also a graduate of the Law Enforcement Leadership Academy Certified Public Managers Course. He is currently the Patrol Division Major.
Hajek began his career in the Patrol Division after graduating in the top 98th percentile of his class at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. His exemplary performance continued as a police officer by quickly becoming a Master Police Officer (MPO) and being selected to train police recruits early in his career. In 2005, he was selected to attend training to become a Certified Instructor in Problem-Based Learning and then partnered with two others to implement the new Police Officer Training (PTO) recruit training program, a culture shift from traditional law enforcement training, which is still used today.
In June 2008, Hajek was transferred to the Investigations Division where he worked until his promotion to Sergeant in December 2010. After his promotion, Hajek was transferred back to the Patrol Division where he became the liaison to the training section and served as the Patrol Division PTO Coordinator. The continued investment of his time and talents in the area of training resulted in his eventual transfer to the Administration Division as the Training Sergeant in 2016. In this position, Hajek continued to be heavily involved in the PTO program, created the new sworn Sergeant training program, and developed Operation Accident Reduction Citations (ARC) and ARC 2.0 training courses. In December 2018, Hajek was transferred to the Investigations Division again where he supervised case detectives and was the lead supervisor on several major cases. Upon his promotion to lieutenant in November 2020, Hajek returned to the Patrol Division where he served as a shift commander. On Dec. 18, 2022, he was promoted to the rank of Major to serve as the Support Division Commander.
Hajek has served the department in many capacities throughout his career -- including being a member of the Police Review Committee, Policy Review Committee, and Multipurpose Committee. However, he has truly excelled in the area of training and holds numerous instructor certifications. He is certified to teach fair and impartial policing, verbal de-escalation techniques, law enforcement active defusion strategies, the Blue Courage course, and is an instructor for the active shooter training, reality-based training, and less lethal and chemical munitions, just to name a few. He also served as a past board member of the Police Society for Problem-Based Learning.
Hajek was named RCPD Officer of the Year in 2006. He also received the department's Core Value Award for Professionalism in 2019.