When it Comes to Training Cops, LAPD Does it Right! NA15165jr

WHAT: A Graduating Recruit Officer, with years of LAPD experience as a Cadet and graduate of the Police Orientation Preparation Program, realizes his dream by becoming an LAPD officer.

WHEN: Friday, September 4, 2015 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Police Headquarters Facility 100 W. First Street Los Angeles, CA 90012

WHO: LAPD Chief of Police, Charlie Beck LAPD Academy Class 03-15 POPP Graduate, Officer Eric Perez

WHY: After successfully completing 920 hours of police academy training, Recruit Class 03-15 will graduate on Friday. But one member of that class started his journey long before his classmates. Officer Eric Perez has spent many years preparing for this day. He began at 13 years old when he joined the LAPD Cadets. After five years as a Cadet, he spent two years studying Administration of Justice courses in the Police Orientation Preparation Program.

The Police Orientation Preparation Program (POPP) is a unique college program that is the result of a public-private partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District, West LA Community College, and the LAPD. Funded by the Weintraub Foundation, the ultimate goal of POPP is to turn local kids into cops. It is the only program in the nation designed to provide youth a college degree while also providing a career pathway to law enforcement.

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