There will be 77 new faces on patrol with the state’s highway law enforcement agency by the end of the week, but some new recruits will have a bit of a head start over their predecessors thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
The California Highway Patrol recruits will receive their badges in a “physically distant” ceremony Friday morning with only the cadets and essential management and staff in attendance.
The new officers will begin their careers with more real-life experience than any other class, due to special measures adopted by the CHP during the outbreak. The CHP shuttered its academy in West Sacramento on March 20 and sent the seven women and 70 men on temporary work assignments near their hometowns.
“They had a unique opportunity which is kind of what made this class special,” CHP spokeswoman Jamie Coffee said.
They were called back to the academy Sept. 14, after new health and safety protocols had been instituted.
“It’s really just essential personnel,” Coffee said of Friday’s ceremony. “It’ll be a different graduation than we’ve ever experienced.”