AUSTIN, Texas — Thirty-three new officers are joining the Austin Police Department.
The department held a graduation ceremony on Friday night for its 147th cadet class.
Chief Joseph Chacon said the department is still dealing with 338 vacancies, so APD is running smaller cadet classes more often to keep recruits from waiting for training to start.
Chacon said that means that the 147th cadet class was a tight-knit group.
“We've had some ceremonies that have gone really long because we've had over 100 in here before,” Chacon said. “But what it does is it allows that class, being a smaller class, to be a little bit more cohesive. They become more even more of a team, almost a family, as they're going through the academy.”
Earlier in the week, the group participated in the “Chief’s Run” tradition in Downtown Austin. The 33 cadets joined Assistant Police Chief James Mason and other assistant chiefs for a run around downtown to focus on unity within the community and department. The run began at the south end of the Congress Avenue bridge and ended at the Texas Capitol's Peace Officers Memorial.
"This is an amazing city. I'm biased, obviously, but I think it deserves great officers and a group of officers that represent the city itself. So I'm excited to be a part of that and be a positive impact in the future," Cadet Becca Buell told KVUE.
Due to the department’s staffing shortage, more than 1,400 officers have worked overtime since the end of September.
The 148th cadet class is set to graduate later this summer.