Birmingham mayor greets new police recruits

Birmingham Mayor William Bell greeted the city's newest police recruits on Monday morning as the new police academy class started today.

Hundreds applied for the job, but the screening process was tough, paring the numbers down to between 30 and 40 per class. Mayor Bell told the class how important character is.

"Character counts. Without character, the training, the skills that they receive will be useless," said Mayor Bell about the recruits.

"The ethics, the character, the standards of conduct, all play a major role in how we serve our citizens. So I want them to know from day one that we have some high expectations," said Police Chief A.C. Roper.

The new class will graduate November 16th.

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