Press Releases

Atlanta Police Department Public Affairs 226 Peachtree Street SW • Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Elizabeth Espy, APD Public Affairs Deputy Manager             404-546-6873,office             enespy@atlantaga.gov

 

 News Release

Atlanta Police Welcomes 29 New Police Officers

Class 235 will graduate alongside Citizens Police Academy Class 22

The Atlanta Police Department is proud to announce the graduation of Class #235 to be held in the City Hall Council Chambers on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Also graduating will be Citizens Police Academy #22 consisting of Atlanta residents and business owners.

Class 235 consists of 27 men and two women. In this class there are 14 college graduates and nine graduates with military experience. The valedictorian of the class is Officer John Suazo. The graduation ceremony concludes 22 weeks of rigorous training at the Atlanta Police Academy, along with 12 weeks of field training with veteran officers. The training includes classroom courses in constitutional law, Atlanta Police Department policy and procedure, hands-on defensive tactics, arrest techniques and daily physical fitness.

The keynote speaker for the ceremony is Joe D. Whitley, Chair of the Atlanta White Collar Criminal Defense Practice. He represents clients nationally and internationally in a variety of matters, including white collar criminal matters and regulatory enforcement, corporate internal investigations, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and U.S. export controls and compliance as well as corporate compliance, health care fraud and FDA-related matters.

The Citizens Police Academy will also graduate 26 new members. The Citizens Police Academy provides a hands-on opportunity to educate the citizens of Atlanta on the operations of the Department while obtaining valuable feedback from citizens to enhance police and community relations.

Graduates completed over 30 hours of instruction taught in three-hour sessions over several weeks. The training included classroom courses in crime scenes, a department overview and a zone ride-a-long.

 

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