Today, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) welcomed 18 new officers to the OPD family as members of the 190th Basic Recruit Academy graduated at a ceremony held at the Scottish Rite Center. “As officers of this great city of Oakland, we are not only here to address crime, we’re also communicators, relationship builders, and guardians,” said Oakland Police Deputy Chief Clifford Wong. “Our legitimacy comes from the support and direction of the communities we serve. Everyone must be treated with dignity and respect.”
"I worked closely with the leadership at the Police Department and my colleagues on City Council to fund new academies in a fiscally responsible way so we could better address our public safety challenges. I'm excited to join Deputy Chief Wong to welcome these new graduates to the Oakland Police Department and express my gratitude for their service to the city," said Mayor Sheng Thao. "It is great to see our efforts to recruit and train more diverse officers is paying off and I know that together, along with violence prevention programs and community-led efforts, we can make our communities safer, prevent crime, and compassionately support victims."
The 190th Academy Class is a diverse group with two females and 16 males; members of the group speak multiple languages including Spanish, Farsi, and Tagalog. For the first time in 20 years, the Valedictorian was a female, as Officer Sandria Bolden received the top honors. The newly sworn Officers are Adrian Cuadra-Shomer, Amu Omari, Jacob Rodriguez, Yianni Alevizos, Hasibullah Alocozy, Jocelyn Chang Newman, Brodrick Villamor, Jonathan Laforteza, Trenton Trammell, Ben Smith, John Catambay, Jimmi Kelly, Kevin Angulo, Juan Mercado, Eyob Worku, Daniel Icban, Yothin Gluaymai, and Na Ayudhaya.
One officer from Alameda Police Department also graduated from OPD’s 190th Academy.
The graduates are a welcomed addition to our Oakland family, bringing the department to 714 sworn officers. Our highest number since January 2022.