An Atmore Police Department recruit was among 27 men and women who graduated Thursday, Aug. 1 from the 147th session of the Alabama Police Academy in Selma.

Atmore native Christopher Travis Vickrey is Atmore’s newest police officer, and APD Police Chief Jason Dean said he is a welcome addition.

“We’re just glad to have him aboard,” Dean said. “We needed the help.”

According to information released from the Alabama Department of Public Safety, this session’s recruits, representing 13 agencies across the state of Alabama, completed the police academy program and participated in graduation exercises in the Alabama Criminal Justice Training Center’s auditorium on the campus of Wallace Community College in Selma.

The academy is a 12-week program designed to equip law enforcement recruits with the finest training possible, according to officials with the ADPS.

The Alabama Police Academy’s 147th session also included recruits from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bayou La Batre Police Department, Citronelle Police Department, Demopolis Police Department, Dothan Police Department, Hartford Police Department, Luverne Police Department, Madison Police Department, Opp Police Department, Saraland Police Department and Wadley Police Department.