OPD gains 11 officers

Eleven rookie Odessa police officers standing in the department training classroom had guns and uniforms - but they were missing one thing until they were sworn in Thursday afternoon: badges.

New officer Kenneth Bordman, 23, said he was relieved after finally getting his officer's badge.

"It was a long process," Bordman said. "It was worth going through all the hard times to get to this point."

Now that Bordman has his badge, he said he's ready to assist Odessans.

"I'm ready to get out on the streets and help people," he said. "That's what I became a police officer for."

Cpl. Sherrie Carruth said the police department is now up to 142 officers - still 22 officers below full staff. The new officers' starting pay will be $3,383 a month.

Eric Daniel Carrasco, 29, said the work he put into getting his badge made the swearing-in ceremony more special.

"It's an honor to have this badge," Carrasco said. "It's hard to get this badge, so this is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders."

Carrasco and the 10 other officers went to the Odessa College Law Enforcement Academy for five months. They'll now go through at least three months of officer field training.

Carrasco jokingly said being a police officer was one of two career choices.

"I have seven kids and one on the way," he said. "It was either the oilfield or the police department."

Deputy Chief Lou Orras said the new additions would bring a lot to the department.

"I'm excited to have the addition of these officers on the streets," he said. "It's always good news when the department swears in new officers. They'll be a huge help."

Orras said he's excited about the new officers but said the department still needs more recruits. The next Odessa College Law Enforcement Academy is scheduled to start Aug. 18.

"This is great, but we're still short," he said.

Here are the 11 new officers:

>> Jeremy Johnson, 24.

>> Michael Lara, 32.

>> Jacob McComas, 26.

>> Kenneth Bordman, 23.

>> John Sikes, 25.

>> Eric Daniel Carrasco, 29.

>> Luis Natividad, 26.

>> Brian Kneisley, 31.

>> Eli Rodriguez, 30.

>> Matthew Muehlbrad, 28.

>> Eric Rubio, 25.