Mayor Swears In New Class Of ‘Guardian Angels’
By Jessie Halladay, The Louisville Courier-Journal
To the strains of bagpipe music, the 31 newest members of the Louisville Metro Police Department marched into Memorial Auditorium yesterday, shiny new badges pinned to their chests.
Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson swore in the recruits and transfer officers, who will begin their duties tomorrow.
Then the officers heard from their boss.
“Our agency’s success will depend on your ability to build relationships with the community,” Chief Robert White told the newest members of his department. “Your main responsibility is to the community, and they’ve empowered you to be their guardian angels.”
Every one of the new officers has a personal story about becoming an officer.
For Brian Wyatt, a 29-year-old Louisville native, it has been a lifelong dream. As a child, when he and his friends would play cops and robbers, he’d always refuse to be a bad guy.
Now that he has been sworn in, Wyatt said he’s anxious to get started.
“I’m nervous because I’m going to be out in the real world,” Wyatt said. “But I’m ready to go.”
His wife, Lisa, pinned on his badge while his two daughters looked on.
“I’m glad he took the time to follow his dreams,” Lisa Wyatt said. “I’m scared, but he’ll do good.”
Yesterday’s graduating class is made up of 17 recruits and 14 people transferring from other police departments around the country. Recruits undergo a 26-week training session, while transfers get nine weeks of training. Starting pay for recruits is $34,000 a year.
In both sessions, the training combines skill development with academic work. Trainees spend time learning firearms, driving and defensive tactics skills. And they also study Kentucky law, department policies, ethics, cultural diversity awareness and crisis intervention.
Training sessions have been expanded since the former city and Jefferson County departments merged their training academies a year ago this month, said Lt. Tony Cobaugh, commander of basic training. Both city and county recruits used to have a 20-week session, while transfers typically had a five-week course.
With the added time, trainees practice more defensive tactics, spend more time on the firing range, and get a more comprehensive look at ethics and cultural diversity issues, Cobaugh said. Additionally, each graduate has completed a 40-hour session on crisis intervention and working with the mentally ill.
Now that they’ve graduated and been sworn in, all 31 of the new officers will start a 24-week period in which they will ride with a field training officer before they are allowed to work solo. Transfers, depending on their skill level, may have a shorter field-training period, Cobaugh said.
All the new officers will have a year-long probation period.
For Robin Ennis, yesterday’s ceremony was a thrill, especially after all the hard work her class went through during training.
“It was more emotional today than I ever thought it would be,” the new officers said.