LAS VEGAS — For Seth Hurst, earning a badge from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department marked the fulfillment of a lifelong dream and a victory over adversity that once threatened to keep him from it, FOX 5 reported.
Hurst, one of 49 new graduates sworn into the department on May 21, first appeared in an LVMPD holiday video as a child, saying, “I want to be a policeman.” Years later, that wish became a reality.
“It’s always been one of those things I’ve wanted to do,” Hurst said. “There’s been a long path getting here.”
At age 15, Hurst suffered a life-changing snowboarding accident that left him temporarily paralyzed. The injury forced him to relearn how to walk and cast doubt on whether his dream of becoming an officer would ever be possible.
His mother, Anna Hurst, said the May 21 graduation ceremony was an emotional milestone.
“There was a time when he thought he wouldn’t walk, but he conquered all odds and became a personal trainer and then EMT, and we knew he was always destined for great things,” she said.
Now an LVMPD officer, Hurst begins field training on May 27.
“I can’t put to words how proud I am of him, so super proud of him and all of his fellow graduates,” said Anna Hurst.
