Vicksburg Police Department added seven more police officers to its staff to help protect the city.

Jason Bright, Michael Rainey, Otis Stamps, Meredith Sturgis, Joseph Stubbs, Xavier Williams and Willnum Maglory completed 12 weeks of intense training at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy in Pearl this month. The new hires started their first week on the job as part of a 10-week field-training program given by VPD. If they successfully complete the program, they will be allowed to patrol the city on their own.

Besides completing the academy, two of the officers were recognized for their outstanding work during training. Rainey was the top ranked officer among the seven from Vicksburg. He was rated 23 out of 68 academy recruits. Meredith Sturgis came in second among the Vicksburg trainees.

Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong praised the new police officers for their hard work.

“They did a very wonderful job while in their training. We are very proud to have them on our staff,” said Armstrong.

Armstrong pointed out how rare it is for every trainee to successful complete the process of becoming an officer.

“It’s unusual for us to send that many to training and all of them graduate. That’s a testament to the hiring process that we now have in place.”