The Chattanooga Police Department (CPD) added 21 new officers to its ranks on Thursday, and more than a third of them are women.
At 38 percent, the CPD Class 2019-2 has the distinction of having the highest known percentage of female graduates since record keeping began. This brings the total to 48 women who now wear the CPD badge including 2019-2 class president, Jesslyn Douglas.
"I wanted to become a police officer to help people however, I didn’t know in what aspect I wanted to serve," said Officer Jesslyn Douglas.
"I took a year or so after college to figure it out and chose to apply to the Chattanooga Police Department because I grew up in this area, went to school at UTC, and couldn’t think of a better community to serve. "
CPD Class 2019-2 also has five graduates who chose to serve the public for a second time...first serving the nation in a branch of the armed forces and now serving the people of Chattanooga.
The class completed an intense 22-week training program. Instruction received included crisis intervention training, community policing, implicit bias training, defensive tactics, and supporting victims of crime.
Officers received the following awards:
* Physical Fitness Award: Kurtis Bacha
* Academic Award: Jacob Simpson
* Pistol Marksmanship Award: Dylan Johnston
* Most Improved Shooter Certificate: Scott St. John