Atlanta Police Department’s latest recruit class is the first to graduate during COVID-19 pandemic

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police Department held a graduation ceremony for Class 267 on March 2. This class, although being sworn in since November, had to wait for the formal graduation ceremony.

Recruits of Class 267 will most likely have some of the most vivid stories to share over the years about their paths to becoming officers with Atlanta police.

This class has been nicknamed the “Magnificent 13.” The name tells a little about the journey they took to get on the force. The class originally started with 31 and, at one point, reached as many as 38 recruits. The large class was eventually whittled down to just the remaining 13 officers.

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The journey for this class also took a little longer than most others. Most classes finish all of the requirements in about six or seven months. Class 267′s path was a little more arduous and took about 36 weeks, or nine months, to complete all the requirements.

Current events in our country were a big factor in the time it took to reach the finish line for the recruits. These recruits dealt with the summer protests of the civil unrest in Atlanta and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The officers have diverse backgrounds and previous careers. Some of the previous careers include a FedEx truck driver, Taco Bell cook and ex-football player, just to name a few.

The “Magnificent 13” managed to handle all the obstacles thrown their way and achieve their goals of joining the Atlanta Police Department.

As Atlanta passes 500K people, new report details work needed to keep some residents in their homes The report looks at 8 years of growth in the city and determined that the city is doing some things right — but there’s still lots of work to do

Cox Media Group