Four new officers sworn in at Santa Barbara Police Department
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A special ceremony took place Thursday afternoon at the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Chief Bernard Melekian swore in four new officers in front of family, friends and fellow officers.
The ceremony took place at 3 p.m. on the front steps of the police department.
The distinguished quartet included Officers Davina Valerio, Jairo Fernandez, Semehi Madrigal and Luke Vorster who each completed over 40 learning modules during a 24-week-long training academy.
Some of the topics they were trained in include cultural diversity, hate crimes, leadership and ethics, racial profiling, principled policing in the community, sexual harassment, terrorism awareness, as well as dozens of criminal law studies and scenario evaluations.
The officers were extensively tested during their time at the law enforcement academy and completed all aspects of training in order to be sworn in as Peace Officers.
"For me, why I wanted to be a police officer is to make a difference behind the uniform. So there's a lot of opportunities for me at Santa Barbara Police Department and I'm really excited about it," said Officer Valerio who grew up in Santa Maria.
“Pretty incredible especially thinking back on all the work that went into the past six months," said Officer Vorster. “Also knowing that I’ve finally arrived at my goal of becoming a police officer, it’s an amazing feeling.”
These new officers still have to complete an 18-week field training program prior to being released to conduct patrol activities.
