SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Five new members of the San Angelo Police Department graduated from the police academy on Friday, June 9.

Cadets who began training at the police department training academy were sworn in by San Angelo Police Department Police Chief Carter to become officers.

Mario Sanchez, a new officer, shared with KLST that he had been working to become an officer since he was a teen.

“I’ve been working for something like this since as long as I can remember, junior high. I kinda already had the idea that I wanted to be an officer and so I’ve just been preparing,” Sanchez said.

Officer Matthew Courter shared that he began the path to becoming an officer after leaving the Army. “After I got done with the army, I decided I wanted to continue providing service and protection and I decided to go down the path of a police officer,” he said.

San Angelo police officers are eligible to apply for openings in specialized units after completing two years of service in the department