The Chattanooga Police Department added 21 new officers to its ranks Aug. 15 – and more than one-third of them are women.
The CPD Class of 2019-20 has the distinction of having the highest known percentage of female graduates, 38%, since record keeping began. This brings the total number of women who wear the CPD badge to 48, including 2019-20 class president, Jesslyn Douglas.
“I wanted to become a police officer to help people; however, I didn’t know where I wanted to serve,” says Douglas. “I applied 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.”
The CPD Class of 2019-20 also has five graduates who are serving the public for a second time after first serving the nation in a branch of the armed forces.
The class completed an intense 22-week training program. Instruction 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
Source: CPD