LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A group of 16 hopefuls have just embarked on what may be the hardest journey they've ever experienced, becoming a Lubbock Police Officer. After making the cut to reach the academy, the newest class of recruits are spending time in the classroom, the gym, behind the wheel and in training scenarios, to see if they have what it takes to wear the uniform.
Class 2025 Alpha kicked off the Lubbock Police Academy on Feb. 10 at Reese Center. Right now, recruits are in the middle of their third week, but the KCBD team has been there since day one.
Before the weights and the whiteboards, there came a warning. Lubbock Police Chief Seth Herman welcomed the newest class to the academy, but also made sure they understood the challenges they are going to face.
"You will challenge yourselves daily, mentally, physically. emotionally. It doesn't matter if you're male or female, it's going to be hard. It's expected to be hard," he said.
Herman says the academy is designed to push people to the point of quitting, not so they will, but so they know they won't when it counts.
"You will stand between good people and bad people very often, placing your lives on the line," Chief Herman said.
While recruit Meaghan Garcia hasn't been in that situation, she's heard about it often. She's been a dispatcher for the Lubbock Police Department for the last six years, working her way up to the role of supervisor.
"I've showed how hard I work, my work ethic that I've learned from my parents," she said. "I just want to keep pushing and show everybody that I have what it takes, not just on one side of the radio, but on the other side, as well."
She's one of 313 people who signed up online to take the entrance exam last fall. Only 125 showed up to actually take the test. 103 applicants made it past the written test to the physical test, a timed row.
80 passed that to make it to background checks. That's when applicants are required to complete a personal history statement.
Retired officers then investigate their backgrounds, looking at things like credit history and drug usage.
LPD spokesperson Kasie Davis says 55 people were cut from the process at that point, not because of those things, but their failure to be honest about them.
"We're all young at some point, we've all made some mistakes here and there. But the reality is, can you be honest about those mistakes? And can you own up to them? And can you decide to be a better person moving forward and decide to make a difference within our community? Those are the men and women we're looking for," she said.
25 applicants made it to the board interview, and 20 moved on to speak with the chief. They were all offered an invitation to start the police academy, and 16 accepted that offer.
"We won't sugarcoat it, it is a lengthy process but it's a process that's absolutely worth it," Davis said.
Recruit Josh Amador, a former gym manager, signed up for the entrance exam because he wanted a challenge and a more stable way to support his family.
"Whether it was physically or mentally, it definitely brought its own challenges. But come the day of, I feel like I was prepared for it. And then, they also did a great job preparing us for the entrance exam," Amador said.
The department provides study guides and practice materials for the test. Chief Herman says they want applicants to succeed.
"The more officers we have on the streets, the better protected our citizens are. And with the population growing in Lubbock, we're going to have to expand our numbers exponentially over the next few years," he said. "Right now, we're, I would suggest, woefully inadequate for the populace in the area, and so we have to keep pushing that number upwards."
KCBD plans to take viewers along for the ride over the next six months, showing what these officers must face before they can serve and protect them.
For anyone interested in joining the next class at the police academy, the department is hosting its next entrance exam on March 8. Apply for the position and the entrance exam here.