LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — North Las Vegas Police swore in 42 new police and corrections officers Thursday, marking the largest recruit class in the department’s history.
Recruit class 2026-01 graduated from the North Las Vegas Police Academy during a ceremony at the College of Southern Nevada Horn Theatre. The class includes 39 new police officers and three new corrections officers. Three recruits for the Clark County School District Police Department also graduated from the academy.
Extensive training required
The academy runs 22 weeks and includes more than 1,000 hours of training, covering case law, firearms and emergency vehicle operations.
New officer Ilani Mitchell, who previously worked for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as a corrections officer, said she joined North Las Vegas police to give back to the community where she was born and raised.
“Becoming a police officer for the community where I was born in North Las Vegas is a very good experience,” Mitchell said. “It’s family. The TAC staff was family. They talked to us like if we were struggling with anything. The recruits, they’re all family. Even people in the department, they say this is a family and I truly feel like it’s family.”
Mitchell said she plans to work in the field and eventually test for specialized units, including motors and detective work.
“Now that I’m sworn in, I want to put my boots on the ground and I want to work in the field,” Mitchell said.
New officer Michael Trostrud said his father-in-law, former Springdale, Utah, Police Chief Garen Brecke, influenced his decision to join law enforcement.
“The journey, man, it’s controlled chaos in the beginning,” Trostrud said. “Everything is for a reason. The history and the tradition of the academy, of course, but everything you do from your physical training to learning every case law that you could possibly imagine and then some, it’s all for a reason. It’s all to make you better.”
Trostrud said he hopes to work toward specialized roles such as SWAT, K9, gang task force, narcotics or public outreach.
“I feel very proud, feel very blessed,” Trostrud said. “I feel very equipped well from our TAC staff, from the department leadership.”
Field training ahead
The new police officers will complete another 17 to 23 weeks of field training before serving on their own.
According to the department, the recruit class is made up of three women and 39 men, including 16 who are bilingual. Fourteen recruits are military veterans representing all four branches of the armed services. Four recruits were born and raised in North Las Vegas, and five come from families of law enforcement officers.
Awards presented during the ceremony included the Physical Fitness Award, given to recruit Ilani Mitchell in the female category; the range award for top shot, given to recruit Tyler Perkins, who scored 179 out of 180 possible points; the valedictorian award for highest academic score, given to recruit Jesus Lopez, who had an academic average of 96.31%; and the Class Leadership Award, given to recruit Dillon Lonnie.
North Las Vegas Police Chief Jacqueline Gravatt pinned badges on the new officers, followed by a swearing-in ceremony.
The City of North Las Vegas offers hiring incentives, including up to $40,000 for lateral police officer transfers from other law enforcement agencies and up to $10,000 for new recruits.
More information on applying is available at joinnlvpd.us.
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