Hundreds Vie to Join Embattled Police Department, Make ‘Positive Change’

 Hundreds of visitors watched training demonstrations and learned what it would take to become a Chicago Police officer at a recruitment expo Saturday.

CPD Recruitment Expo

NEAR WEST SIDE — Officer Anthony Richardson was hoping for a decent turnout for the year’s first citywide recruitment event. But, especially for a freezing Saturday morning, the training instructor’s expectations were blown away.
“Just look at all these people — I never thought we’d fill all the bleachers like this,” Richardson said, beaming at the packed gymnasium in the Chicago Police Department’s Near West Side training facility, 1300 W. Jackson Blvd. “Just by getting up early to be here on a frigid day like this, they’re showing us that they’re the kind of people we want.”
By the event’s halfway point, more than 200 people had flooded the building to meet officers, watch training exercises and learn what it takes to apply. Officers from an array of different units — including SWAT, K-9, the marine division and others — were spread through the building in a science fair-style layout to tell visitors about the joys and challenges of their jobs.
It was an impressive display for Kareem Butler, who said he was attracted by the chance to “make a difference and be a role model” for those around him.
“I was really surprised just by the personalities and the morale of all these officers — like they really love what they do,” Butler said. “You always hear this stuff about working overtime and worrying about pensions, but then you come here and see most people don’t really feel that way.”


Police canine handler Billy Cales (l.) tells prospective recruits about his drug-sniffing sidekick, Noro. [DNAinfo/Alex Nitkin]

From a recruitment perspective, the past month hasn’t been easy for Chicago police. Since the Nov. 24 release of a dashcam video showing Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times, protesters have engaged police innear-daily demonstrations, with much of their anger directed toward the Police Department. On Friday, an officer suffered a broken wrist at the hands of marchers, according to police.
But from what Richardson could tell, the uproar wasn’t thinning his newest potential crop of trainees.
“With all this negative stuff people hear in the media, you’d think it would deter people from signing up,” Richardson said. “But when people look past that, they see what a great profession this really is … that it’s about so much more than just chasing bad guys.”
It was always about more than that for Nethaniel Cordova, who said he’d wanted to wear a badge for almost as long as he could remember. Cordova said watching the news every morning and “seeing kids get shot” gave him an impulse to protect people.
The most recent rash of criticism hitting the department, Cordova said, only intensified his drive to join.

“It definitely influences me…it makes me want to prove wrong all those people who think police officers are bad people,” Cordova said. “It makes me want even more to show I can be one of the good ones.”
The desire to be part of a sea change for the department was a common theme among visitors.
Richard Sanders, for one, saw the coming Department of Justice investigation into the CPD as an opportunity to be part of a police force in transition.
“It’s a good thing to know that reform is coming — it makes me feel better about joining,” Sanders said. “I’m looking forward to new kinds of training that show us how to deal with certain situations. It helps protect officers, not just the people they come in contact with.”
Juana Saucedo, like many of those in attendance, said she is chasing a lifelong dream to join the department. Watching TV footage of people protest police brutality, she said, gives that dream new meaning.
“I don’t think protest is the answer. You’re not going to be able to make real change happen that way,” Saucedo said. “The only way is to bring in more officers with real morals to bring in a positive change. I want to be that change.”

The deadline to apply for April’s police entrance exam is Jan. 31. The d

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