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“We look forward to this kind of challenge. We know every day
we’re going to come out here and have an uphill battle, but
we’re having a lot of fun with it and we’re meeting a lot of
good candidates and a lot of good people in the community who
are our voice trying to reach people when we can’t,” said
Sgt. Mike Kurjan, who heads the three-member TPD recruiting
team. “We’re trying to take the negative and turn it into a
positive to reach more people.”
The recruiting team admits this is a tough time to try to draw
people to a law enforcement career, with national headlines
focused on officer-involved shootings and fatal incidents of
police brutality. Some of those deaths have sparked protests and
violence across the country. Toledo saw its own share of
demonstrations earlier in 2020, the worst damage being broken
windows.
“We’re lucky here in Toledo. We do have a good relationship with
our community. I’m not saying our department is perfect. We have
taken time to forge those relationships, so I think that is
working to our advantage,” said Sgt. Kurjan.
Until a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, TPD recruiters
were able to attend events such as the Brown-Black Unity
Coalition peace rally held in the UAW Local #12 parking lot
in October.
The recruiting unit hopes to attract enough qualified candidates
to fill a 31-person academy class that would start training in
the late summer of 2021.
“We’ve been lucky the community has been so welcoming to us,
because we share the same goal,” said Sgt. Kurjan. “Both sides
want to create a diverse police force that represents (the
makeup of) our community.”
While recruitment numbers won’t be available until after
recruitment ends Dec. 31, 2020, the team points out
attendance at recent testing sessions shows a good number of
police recruits of color.
“I think this is a good opportunity to reach more people who
look like me, to get out there and be the image of the
department,” said Officer Geoffrey
McLendon, the lone
African-American member of the TPD recruitment team. “I can show
that there are African-Americans who represent the department
and give people hope that they can join this job. My goal is to
be the image of the people who look like me, so that they can
see ‘Hey, you can do this job, too.’”
“This is a great job to be that change in your community, that
positive impact,” echoed Office Stephen Bates, the third
member of the recruiting unit. “I’m from Toledo. I love Toledo
and working for my city and being that positive role model and
making that positive difference in the lives of many is just
awesome. It pretty much has me hooked and now I’m trying to take
that message and tell other people about it. This is a great job
and very rewarding.”
Both officers left patrol duties for the temporary recruiting
assignment, partially to bring their perspectives to the
recruiting process. They can speak firsthand to recruits about
some of the hurdles they faced and offer advice. They
successfully got funding to waive the $55 testing fee for Toledo
residents—some of whom may not be able to afford the expense
during the pandemic. One of the only national testing sites
is located at Owens Community College. The
recruitment team convinced the testing service to locate
in-person testing in Toledo, closer to some recruits.
TPD also raised the age requirement to 40 years old for police
academy recruits, hoping to draw more potential cadets with
military experience. Sgt. Kurjan emphasized those recruits have
some relevant “life experience” they can bring to the job as
police officers.
A 25-member class began the police academy Oct. 30. A class of the
same size had been planned for 2021, but a $750,000 grant
afforded the department an opportunity to add six additional
slots in 2021. TPD has struggled to keep up with replacing
retirements in recent years. Department numbers currently sit at
611 sworn officers, but the goal is to grow those ranks closer
to 700.
Time is running short on the current recruiting window, which
ends Dec. 31. There is a two-part application process at the
website,
https://tpdhire.com. Once
applicants fill out a registration sheet, they must also
schedule a test on the site through the National Testing
Network.
One more round of in-person testing will be held in late
December. Interested recruits can get questions answered or get
more information by emailing
tpdrecruitment@toledo.oh.gov.
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