SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department welcomed 17 new officers on Thursday, bringing the department closer to its full staffing goals.
Police Academy Class 175 managed to get through six months of training, all culminating with the pinning of the badge ceremony at the Utah State Fairpark
“It makes me look back at the beginning in January, thinking, 'Man, this is gonna take forever, and it flew by,” said new officer Kade Palmer. “It was really fun, it was very enjoyable, and we learned a ton.”
It turned out that 28-year-old Palmer received the Blue Shirt Award as the top recruit of his class, with the top combined score in academics, firearms, and physical fitness. Icing on the cake for someone who wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“My dad was a law, a police officer out in West Valley, and he always had awesome stories to tell me," he shared, "and so I have a lot of buddies and friends that are officers, and it's always been something that has kind of been in the back of my mind and so I decided I am not getting any younger, and I am gonna do it now."
In helping lead the biggest police department in the state, Deputy Chief Bill Manzanares couldn’t be happier that Palmer and his classmates decided to go into police work. Once an additional 19 recruits get through the academy, the department will be fully staffed with up to 630 officers available to patrol the streets.
“It’s an incredibly difficult job, it’s super rewarding, but it's incredibly difficult and it takes a certain type of person to be able to do this job,” said Manzanares. “Today we talked about serving with integrity and serving with compassion, and that is key for our officers.”
It's a challenge, Palmer said, he and his fellow new officers want the public to know, they’re ready to take on, day in and day out.
“I hope they know that you know, we're here to serve them," said Palmer. "We're here to protect the good people of Salt Lake City and do the right thing, and all in all just make it a safer place to live."
