February 2, 2017

Mayor Emanuel, Chicago Police Superintendent Johnson Celebrate Police Graduation and Promotional Ceremony

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today joined Chicago Police Department (CPD) Superintendent Eddie Johnson in commemorating the graduation of 291 officers in a ceremony at Navy Pier, one of the largest CPD ceremonies of its kind since the Mayor took office. The graduating class includes 108 new police officers and celebrates the promotion of 85 Field Training Officers (FTOs), 79 Lieutenants and 19 evidence technicians. In addition, the ceremony celebrates Stephen Chung, who has been promoted to Commander of District 9 from Captain of District 3, Salvador Avila who has been promoted to Commander of Area North Patrol from Lieutenant in Special Functions-Traffic Patrol, and Roger Bay who is being promoted to Deputy Chief of Street Operations from Commander of Area North Patrol.

“Every officer shares a shared sense of purpose and one common goal: to protect and serve the people of Chicago,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “To truly serve and protect our communities we have to offer comprehensive solutions to comprehensive challenges.”

Today’s graduating class of 291 officers includes 78% men, 22% women and is 57% nonwhite. Police recruits spent five months at the Police Academy and will now begin a Field Training Program as a Probationary Police Officer. Upon successful completion of the Field Training Program and 13 months of field experience, Probationary Police Officers become full-fledged police officers. These new officers will be also supported and supervised by graduating lieutenants.

"The latest CPD graduating class represents our ongoing commitment to investing in the next generation of Chicago police officers," said CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson. "As part of our two year hiring plan, we will continue to put more officers out on the street who are trained in the latest technology and policing methods with the ultimate goal of rebuilding public trust and making our streets safer."

This graduation continues to fulfill CPD’s hiring plan to grow the Department by nearly 1,000 sworn officers, including more detectives and police supervisors, and reflects the Mayor’s commitment to increase the diversity of the Department. With these new graduates and promotions, the Department will ensure that all officers receive high quality, individualized in-the-field guidance from a trained and experienced officer. Last week, Mayor Emanuel introduced an ordinance to allow CPD use of classroom space at DeVry University to expand CPD’s training capacity as it works to implement the hiring plan. 


There are 369 new recruits currently being trained at the Police Academy, 55% of which are nonwhite. Earlier this month, the Mayor welcomed 277 newly promoted officers to begin their in-service training at the Academy. This was the largest promotional class by rank in the last five years and included 90 field training officers, 135 detectives and 52 lieutenants.

The ceremony also comes on the heels of the Chicago Police Department’s latest recruitment campaign. The application period closed on January 31st and candidates will take the Chicago Police Exam on April 1st and 2nd.

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