By By Adrienne McKenzie
Mark Chapman, 34, is enjoying his new position at the Atmore Police Department where he gained employment in June.
"I love it here," Chapman said. "They are a great bunch of guys I work with. It's a really close-knit group. They like to get together on the weekend and watch football games."
Chapman is one of the three new officers at APD who recently graduated from the Mobile Police Academy, where he served as class vice president.
"It (the academy) was a good experience, but I don't want to do it again," Chapman said. "We did a lot of PT (physical training) and when we graduated we were doing about five miles a day. But, the 12 weeks we spent there was definitely a good experience. There were about 34 of us in there and there are a lot I will probably keep in contact with."
Chapman is from Columbus, Ga. and he graduated from Columbus High School. He married an Alabama woman, Crystal Chapman, and wound up in Bay Minette. Before working at the police department he was employed as a corrections officer, drove an 18-wheeler and also did construction work.
But, becoming an officer has been a longtime dream of Chapman's.
"This is just something I've always wanted to do," he said.
Atmore police chief Jason Dean said working with Chapman has been a pleasure thus far.
"I'm pleased to have officer Chapman working for the Atmore Police Department," Dean said. "He is a great addition to the department and we have all enjoyed working with him."