Colorado Springs Police Dept. Graduates Its Largest Recruit Class

From the City of Colorado Springs:

Posted Tue, 1/28/2020

Twenty-seven weeks ago, 13 women and 47 men began their journey to becoming police officers with the Colorado Springs Police Department. It took determination and a strong work ethic to make it through those rigorous six months of training; but for them, it was all worth it when they earned their badge at last week's graduation ceremony.

It's the largest class of recruites to graduate in CSPD's history. They are part of the City's committment to hire 120 new police officers and 36 new firefighters by 2022. The funding needed to hire the new officers and firefighters was freed up in the City's General Fund when voters approved the stormwater fee. That allowed Mayor Suthers and City Council to designate general funds that were previously being spend on resolving stormwater issue on additional police and fire resources.

Throughout their time in the Academy, these new officers were tested both mentally and physically, learning everything from control tactics to de-escalation techniques. With their gained knowledge and experience, they are now on the streets, protecting and serving our community.

Interesting facts about Colorado Springs’ newest officers:

• The youngest recruit is 21, the oldest is 44
• 16 have Associate degrees, 37 have Bachelor degrees, 1 has a Master’s Degree, 6 have some college experience
• Majors include: Criminal Justice, Behavioral/Social Science, Aircraft Maintenance, Accounting, Business Finance, Communication, Sports Medicine, Sociology, History, Engineering, Biology, Political Science and Aeronautics (to name a few)
• 5 attended college while in the Academy
• 27 have prior military experience
• 17 were born right here in Colorado Springs
• 10 were born in Colorado
• 32 were born in various states
• 2 were born in Germany
• Collectively, the speak 6 different languages
• Prior employments include: EMT, Park Ranger, Teacher, Stay at Home Mom, Combat Medic, Baseball Umpire, and more.

The training isn’t quite over. The new officers still have 15 weeks of additional field training, where a police officer will go out on every shift with the new graduates before they are on their own.

You can read more about this graduating class and the training they go through on CSPD's blog (link is external).

This press release was produced by the City of Colorado Springs. The views expressed here are the author’s own.