CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the days of cell phone video, the racial divide, and a rise in violence, it can be hard for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to find new officers.
But Friday, 30 new recruits were sworn in, promising to build trust with the people they serve everyday.
Reporter Mark Becker covers CMPD for Channel 9 nearly every day. Watch the video above as he learned what inspired these new officers to join the ranks.
Charlotte's newest police officers are coming on to the job at a time when the community and its police department are wrestling with the delicate balance between trust and fear.
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"It's about pledging yourself and taking an oath to a profession that needs people right now," CMPD Chief Kerr Putney said.