Lexington Police Department welcomes 12 new officers; son joins father on the force

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Another memorable morning inside Immanuel Baptist Church on Tates Creek Road in Lexington, where the police department welcomed 12 new officers to its roster of 641 sworn officers.

"Swearing in police officers is one of the great honors of this job," Mayor Linda Gorton said before administering the oath to the graduating class members.

Chief Lawrence Weather told the members that they are already special individuals for having made it this far. (25 people began the program 28 weeks ago, but only 12 completed their training). He also told them they've entered a profession that requires them to be right 100% of the time, and he implored them to be disciplined, courteous, courageous, and respectful of everyone.

Weathers pins badges on the uniforms of all of the new officers. An exception was allowed today because Sergeant Rob Fraser's son is a member of this class.

"Just a proud father. Just watching the whole process, watching him do what I had to go through years ago. Knowing he'll do the right thing, step up, and be the next generation," Sgt. Fraser said of his son, who dreamed of becoming a police officer since he was a kid.

"I remember I was in kindergarten and he came in for career day," Andrew said. "He was in uniform, and I was like, this is what I want to do."

Sgt. Fraser says his wife (Andrew's mom) will probably worry about him more than he will. The Sergeant has two more years until he reaches retirement age, but hasn't decided if he'll stick around to continue working with his son.

Another graduate, Officer Christopher Dollins, wasn't a rookie when it came to intense training programs.

"I served 12 years in the Army," he said, before noting that there are similarities between basic training and the academy. And he hopes to apply what he learned in the military to this new position in law enforcement.

"I come from a leadership background in the Army, so taking that and applying it, whether it's with my classmates in the academy, or whether it's doing police work on the streets," he said following the ceremony.

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