CMPD welcomes 43 new officers, still has 157 vacancies

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dozens of new officers joined the ranks of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Friday.

Chief Kerr Putney watched proudly from the stage as 36 new rookie officers and seven officers with previous law enforcement experience graduated.

Putney acknowledged that they’re walking into a difficult environment.

"Hard not to be emotional," Putney said.

A standing-room-only crowd watched as recruits stood and placed their hands on the Bible as they swore to protect and serve the community.

Bradley Schwop is a member of recruit class 177 and said he’s proud to be carrying on the family legacy. His father retired from CMPD two years ago.

"I'm ready to carry on the tradition and do what I can to give back," Schwop said.

Putney said the department has been facing challenges with recruiting, especially among minorities, but he’s excited about the new crop of officers.

"They are walking into a fantastic city. Let's not fool ourselves. It's a difficult environment, but they have the character, courage and upbringing to be very good people to help us make the city even safer," Putney said.

Even with the new additions, officials said the department still has 157 vacancies, and the new hires come as the department prepares to say goodbye to 40 retiring officers next year.

"We are expecting to lose another 40 by the end of the fiscal year, but we also intend to bring in about 60 laterals, so we can also start to make up our ground," Putney said.

With 44 people moving to Charlotte each day, the chief said it's critical that the department doubles down on its recruiting efforts, and added that it still has a lot of work to do to reach the full capacity of 1,906 officers.

In October, Channel 9 learned that CMPD started targeting experienced officers, hoping to recruit from local departments.

"It's humbling to be in such a great city, but we have our work cut out for us, and we are up for the challenge," Putney said.

Channel 9 was told that the new recruits will hit the streets on their own in March.

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