Twenty-eight new police recruits and five new cadets officially began the Knoxville Police Department Training Academy on Monday morning (May 4, 2020), as the members of Recruit Class 2020-A embarked on their journey to becoming KPD officers at the Phil Keith Training Facility.

The KPD police recruits will undergo 22 weeks and 880 hours of rigorous training, which is twice the amount required for Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification in the state of Tennessee. The Academy includes extensive training in firearms and driving, criminal justice and law, human relations, ethics in policing, de-escalation, diversity, interpersonal communications and more. Additionally, the recruits will engage in thorough physical training.

The training staff has implemented numerous precautions to protect the health and safety of the new recruits, cadets and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strict social distancing guidelines have been established and will be adhered to in the classroom and the expanded areas of the Training Facility, such as the restrooms, breakrooms and changing rooms. Training that requires physical contact, such defensive tactics, has been pushed off until later in the Academy when the staff can re-evaluate the coronavirus situation as it continues to evolve.

If the situation worsens, the training staff has the ability and capacity at a moment’s notice to break recruits into even smaller groups and connect digitally via Zoom to continue the progress of the Academy.

Additionally, further precautions as recommended by the CDC will be taken, including a complete and daily sanitization of the facilities and temperature screenings of recruits, cadets and staff.

For the year’s Academy, the Public Information Office will be documenting the progress of the Training Academy on the Knoxville Police Department’s official YouTube page.

A short video of today’s welcome can be seen below or viewed at  https://youtu.be/nYUO3r6IN4M.