The Knoxville Police Department now has 18 new officers.
The KPD 2018-A Basic Recruit Class graduated on Friday afternoon.
These officers come from four different states and cover a 20 year age range. Some have military or prior police experience, and many have college degrees.
The group of 14 men and four women will be hitting the streets of Knoxville next week as the city's newest police officers.
They trained 28 weeks for this next step.
"This class in particular, many of us came to the Knoxville Police Department because of the reputation that Knoxville police have," said Officer Howard Todd Pittenger, student president of this recruit class. "They have a really good relationship with their community."
That's something Officer Pittenger wants to continue when he starts work on Sunday morning.
He and his fellow new officers said they're most excited to help people.
"I love to help people. I have a heart to serve and I want to be a part of this community," said new Officer Andrew Cloyd.
Chief of Police Eve Thomas said all these new officers are highly qualified for the job.
She said there are still more spots to fill, but quality is more important than quantity.
"We are always putting out the word," said Chief Thomas. "We'd love to have officers that reflect our community, the diversity of the community. But we've got to have quality and we want to make sure we don't compromise any standards."
This is the first class of recruits Chief Thomas has worked with since stepping in to her new role.
With four women in the group, she hopes she can be a good role model.
"I gave them all a challenge this morning when I met with them, and it's second nature for me to watch out for all the women officers so I'll definitely be doing that," said Chief Thomas.
The next class of recruits is still being selected.
They'll start their 28 weeks of police academy training this fall.