PERRYSBURG, Ohio — The Toledo Police Department kicked off training for its newest recruits on Friday.
Citizens still seem motivated to join the law enforcement field, despite the profession gaining more scrutiny and attention in the last several years.
Twenty-six cadets met at the Toledo Police Academy in Perrysburg Township for their first day of training.
"I'm pretty aware of what's going on around the world. I'm 40 years old and I have a little more life experience than some of the younger kids. I have to do it to protect my family and try to make a better city," Russell Grunden of Toledo said.
"When you sign up for it, you have to go in with an expectation of these things and I already had that expectation so it was no different for me. I was ready to go," Jacquelyn Crapsey of Erie Township added.
Chief George Kral outlined some of what these cadets will go through over the next seven months before graduation. They will be stressed physically, mentally and emotionally. The new recruits will also undergo cultural diversity training.
"We're going to teach them how to arrest. We're going to teach them how to do an OVI. But we're also going to show them community outreach and how to reach out to the community so we can be partners in order to keep Toledo safe," Kral said.
It has been a tough year for the department. Toledo police lost Officer Anthony Dia in a shooting while he was on duty on the Fourth of July, as well as an active-duty sergeant who died battling an illness.
While visiting the cadet class, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz told them the city has their backs, and whatever the police department needs, the city will support.
Kral said the last three classes have been the most racially diverse in decades and he plans for that trend to continue.