Cincinnati has 19 new police officers. The department's first class of lateral transfer recruits in more than six years was sworn in today. The officers all came from other Ohio agencies but still had to go through the city's training process. Chief Jeffrey Blackwell calls today's graduation exciting.
The new officers will hit the ground running with their first duty assignment working the Cincinnati Reds game on Saturday. They'll be paired with field training officers on Sunday and begin working in their assigned districts.
FOP president Kathy Harrell says the officers should expect to be held to a higher standard than before.
"We are so closely watched and investigated and one of the most closely watched police departments because we have made all of these changes," says Harrell. "We're technically still under the collaborative (agreement) and other departments are now looking at going into things that are like our federal collaborative and are calling us and asking us, 'What worked? What should we do? How do you train differently? What is expected differently?'"
The city is already planning for the next class. Up to 60 new recruits are expected to begin training in September.
