Two more recruits started training today (Jan. 4) with the newest class of police recruits at the NOPD Training Academy.
Ezzard Burton and Arden Taylor, Jr. join 10 other recruits already in Class #179, which officially launched on December 28th. The newest members, who are both from Louisiana, have been working at the NOPD as police aides and were cleared for hire this week.
For the first time in recent history, the NOPD is training three recruit classes simultaneously:
- Class #177 launched in July with 32 recruits;
- Class #178 launched in October 2016 with 33 recruits;
- Class #179 launched in December 2016 with 10 recruits and now has a total of 12 recruits.
Recruits undergo training eight hours a day, Monday through Friday, for a total of 26 weeks. Following graduation from the Training Academy, recruits are partnered with an experienced NOPD officer, known as a Field Training Officer (FTO). The FTO mentors the recruits through 16 weeks of field training. Following field training, the recruits become full-fledged officers.