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Oakland, CA — On Friday, April 4, 2014, at 10:00 AM, the 168th Oakland Police Recruit Academy graduated at the Scottish Rite Center. The 168th Academy is the largest graduating class in OPD history with 47 graduates.

Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent was joined by Mayor Jean Quan, City Administrator Fred Blackwell, Assistant Chief Paul Figueroa, Deputy Chief Eric Breshears, Deputy Chief David Downing, Deputy Chief Danielle Outlaw, Oakland Police Officers’ Association President Sergeant Barry Donelan, Personnel Resources & Training Division Commander Captain Donna Hoppenhauer and Training Section staff (Sergeant Mary Guttormson, Sergeant Bryan Hubbard, Officer Kathryn Jones, and Officer Robert Romero) as well as dignitaries and representatives from the City.

The Scottish Rite Center rang with cheers from family and friends as Sergeant Hubbard announced the names of our new officers and welcomed them to the ranks of the Oakland Police Department.

Chief Whent acknowledged the hard work of the graduates saying, “the last 27 weeks you have dedicated yourself to one of the finest police academies in the state. It has not been easy, but nothing worth doing is ever easy. You should be proud of what you have accomplished.” He explained that policing is an honorable profession rooted in service to others saying, “You will find that helping others is the most rewarding part of this job. You earned the opportunity to be one of the trusted few who responds when people, in times of need, call.”

The Academy started with 57 recruits and today 47 successfully completed the six-month curriculum.

The 47 graduates are:

Keith Armstrong
Lorena Arreola
Omar Assad
Jonathan Cairo
Michael Camacho
Joseph Camarillo
Kyle Cardana
Danny Cheng
Eric Esparza
James Garcia
Christopher Giacomini
Lance Haley
Ty Hawkins
Julio Jolivette
Matthew Jung
Christina Kazarian
Nigel Lawson
Courtney Lewis
Peni Likio
Kenneth Lindsey
Khyber Mangal
Vincente Morado
Alejandro Navarro
Anh Nguyen
Chevalier Patterson
Brandon Perry
Matthew Petty – Valedictorian
Moises Polanco
Thomas Quezada
Daniel Quezada-Garcia
Miguel Ramos
Nicholas Ramos
Kathryn Reymundo
Mariza Rivera
Robert Rodriguez
Antonio Rushing
Jaymie Salgado
Jerry Sanchez
John Shackford
Robert Smith
Terryl Smith
Blake Stephens
James Ta'ai
Travis Tompkins
Kevin Tran
Lester Urbina
Karolina Zachoszcz

Most trainees received their badges from Chief Sean Whent. Twelve had the distinct honor of being pinned by members of their own families who currently serve or have served in law enforcement:

Jonathan Cairo - brother, David Cairo, San Francisco County Sheriff Deputy
Kyle Cardana - brother, Kody Cardana, Santa Barbara Police Officer
Julio Jolivette - uncle, John Ramirez, San Francisco County Sheriff’s Lieutenant
Christina Kazarian – grandfather, Hike Kazarian, San Francisco Police Officer retired
Vicente Morado – father, Vince Morado Sr., Alameda County Sheriff Deputy retired
Alejandro Navarro – brother, Carlos Navarro, Oakland Police Officer
Brandon Perry – father, Ron Perry, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Sergeant retired
Nicholas Ramos – father, Dr. Richard Ramos, Berkeley Police Department Sergeant retired
Kathryn Reymundo – father, Craig Buckhout, San Jose Police Captain retired
Jerry Sanchez – father, Jerry Sanchez Sr., Solano County District Attorney Investigator
John Shackford – mother, Karen Franklin, California Highway Patrol Sergeant retired
Blake Stephens – father, Mike Stephens, San Benito County Sheriff’s Sergeant retired

Officer Matthew Petty was honored as class valedictorian for having maintained the highest overall academic and performance standing in the class.

The diversity of the City of Oakland is reflected in the class with many of the graduates speaking a second language including: Spanish, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Tongan, Farsi, Punjabi, Pashto, Polish, Italian, Arabic and Samoan. Of the 47 graduates, 6 are women. Many are college graduates and all come from interesting work and life experiences. The addition of these 47 graduates is an important accomplishment in our continued efforts to grow the Police Department and increase public safety in the city of Oakland.

With noticeable pride, the new officers vowed to protect, honor, and serve the communities and families of Oakland.