TULSA, Okla. — With a ceremony lasting just 49 minutes, Tulsa police honored 10 men and women who passed the tests required to protect and serve in its department Friday.
The challenges of replacing those on the force who are aging or retiring are beginning to mount.
It's the lowest number of officers to graduate in recent memory, according to Chief Wendell Franklin.
City leaders like Deputy Mayor Cassia Carr openly admit that.
"We face a daunting task of police recruitment that's probably never going to get better, and we have a lot of pressure to lower our standards in order to meet those recruiting requirements," Carr said.
Franklin said Class-125 could have had more than twice its amount if some standards were sacrificed.
"We know that people have expectations of law enforcement," the chief said. "Particularly in the city of Tulsa, there are expectations of us in Tulsa that are different than any other city in the nation."
The chief mentioned to 2 News he had stern conversations about staffing with Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis, whose department was wrapped in controversy earlier this year with footage of officers using brutal force on an unarmed man.
"If I skip on the quality and I take everyone, then I promise you in a year, two years, five years, we will have problems in this city that people are going to come back and question," Franklin said.
The graduates now face a 16-week field course as officers-in-training.
Ofc. Ryan Broostin said it's not about the quantity of his class but the quality.
"I learned that a relatively small number of people can accomplish a lot of things, and it doesn't matter how many as long as they're all quality people," Officer Broostin said.
Chief Franklin said the class was the first to graduate with the $15,000 signing bonus enacted last year, but that statistics suggest that hasn't led to an increase in applicants to the department.
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