Police recruits run through downtown Tuesday to pay respects, get motivated
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The recruits of the Kansas City Regional Police Academy’s 162nd Entrant Officer Class will revive a tradition to honor those who have gone before them through a run downtown Tuesday morning.
The class’s 36 recruits and Academy staff will run west on 12th Street from Washington Street, arriving at Police Headquarters at Locust Street about 10 a.m. April 24. At that time, they will pay tribute to the 119 KCPD officers who have died in the line of duty by doing push-ups at the memorial statue in front of Headquarters. Chief Richard C. Smith will address and encourage the group. Afterward, the recruits will run west to Grand Boulevard and south to Washington Square Park, for a total of about two miles. Media are invited to attend.
Similar runs used to take place downtown before the construction and opening of the Kansas City Regional Police Academy at 6801 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road. Academy staff worked to revive the tradition this year. They said it serves as a time of respect, team-building and motivation for the group, which will graduate May 17. These recruits all just successfully passed their final scenario-based training last week.
Twenty-one of the 36 entrant officers will join the Kansas City Missouri Police Department upon their graduation. The other 15 in the class will go to police departments in Blue Springs, Grandview, Independence, Lee’s Summit, North Kansas City, Raymore and Riverside.