New Officers Hit The Streets

The newest Colorado Springs Police officers are ready to hit the streets. With graduation and training behind them, how ready do they feel? Challenges still lie ahead for the fresh officers, especially those of officer involved shootings and accusations of police brutality. The question now: are they ready?

36 men and women took the oath on Friday Sept. 18 just days before being in the line of duty.

“I’m really excited! A hair nervous but the academy has prepared me and I’m confident,” recent graduate and current police office Nancy Hwang says.

Hwang spoke with us back in May while she was training with the academy. A few months ago, she said she wants more of the good officers to be recognized after national cases have put them in a negative spot light.

Hwang says she still feels that way now, four months later.

“Even through Ferguson and everything beyond that, there’s a lot of negatity on policing but that never swayed my mind. It definitely worried my friends and family a little more but for me I think it’s something I always wanted to do,” Hwang said.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey says with the recent police media attention, the last year has been rough.

“The last year has made it even more difficult when we found out that there’s things that have happened in other parts of the country that affect our credibility and our trust in our community,” Carey said.

That trust has been building over the last 26 weeks for the most recent class of grads as they underwent rigorous training to earn their credibility with the public.

“We are not going to have a police department where it’s us versus them, these new officers need to know that,” Carey said.

No with their new badges in hand, the 64th class is ready to protect and serve.

“This will be a wonderful way for me to serve my community,” Hwang said.