APD gets batch of fresh new faces

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin Police Department graduates 65 new officers Friday. Ceremonies for the 115th cadet class will take place at the Great Hills Baptist Church located at 10500 Jollyville Road at 7 p.m.

The graduating cadets will be commissioned during the ceremony and are eligible to get 21 college-credit hours from Austin Community College. The graduating class completed more than 1,282 training hours in an intensive 32-week program, which more than doubles the state licensing agency training hours of 618.

Chief of Police Art Acevedo will conduct an inspection of the entire cadet class before administering the Oath of Office to the cadets at the graduation ceremony. The ceremony's guest speaker is retired Austin police Lt. George Vanderhule, who retired from APD in 2008 with more than 35 years of service.

The training the 115th cadet class received included:

• driving
• leadership
• legal issues
• physical fitness
• defensive tactics
• community policing
• crisis intervention training