TOLEDO, Ohio — More than 20 new officers are hitting the streets of Toledo after completing months of training with the Toledo Police Department.
The 67th police graduation was held Friday afternoon.
In this class, there will be 23 new officers and an arson investigator who will also have police powers. Toledo Police Chief George Kral described this class as one of the most racially diverse yet, continuing a trend over the past several years.
This is the first police class since the line of duty deaths of Toledo police officers Anthony Dia and Brandon Stalker.
Scott Thompson, a father of one of the graduating cadets, says he has high hopes for his son.
"I'm proud and scared at the same time, you know, for him and his family. But it's what he wanted, so I'm really proud of him. Hope he can make a difference," Thompson.
Kral says these cadets have been through seven months of hard training, and soul searching, to make sure they can handle the job.
"They definitely know what's going on in this country. We've had the protest. We've had the riots. We've heard the ridiculous defunding of the police rhetoric and we try to incorporate that in our scenarios, so that they're not sticker-shocked when they hit the street," said Kral.
Kral also says the department is also working with JoJuan Armour in the initiative to reduce gun violence in the city.
The newly sworn-in officers say they're ready for the next test.
"Gonna be challenging for a lot of people, because most people haven't really been in a career where there's such high stress and there's a variation in how you may have to react to situations. And that's gonna come with time," said Jared Muehlbauer, one of the new officers.
"They're coming into policing in a very divisive time. They're gonna have to use a lot more of their intelligence, a lot more of their thought process, and try to tackle some of these instances that are happening to them," said Andrew Dlugosielski, the assistant public information officer with TPD. "They're gonna have to come to people with a lot more empathy than it used to be."
For Thompson, his hope is his son can create change, but still come home safe every night.
"Maybe some of these younger Black kids can look up to him. Some of the kids that he knows from the neighborhood. Maybe look up to him and go in the right direction. Because it's a lot of them going in the wrong direction," said Thompson.
The learning isn't done for these new officers. Even after the academy, they still go through two weeks of scenario-based training. That includes responding to a protest, domestic violence, and active shooter situations.