LAPD rookies earning the badge

Members of the Los Angeles Police Department recruit class run through the hills near the LAPD academy in Elysian Park. Recruits train at various facilities throughout the city.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

An LAPD recruit class on the first day at the academy.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recruit William Wong grimaces during physical fitness training.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

LAPD recruits learn handcuffing and felony arrest techniques from training officers.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recruit Vanessa Lopez, center, loads magazines with paintballs before a training session.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Police recruits use paintball guns to practice shooting scenarios.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recruit Gabriela Gomez readies a Taser as an instructor yells at her, attempting to increase her stress level.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recruits Chris Montague, left, and Clay Bell, right, hold Vanessa Lopez as her body is charged with Taser voltage. All recruits learn what it’s like to be shot with a Taser.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recruits Vanessa Lopez, left, and Gabriela Gomez take apart their Glock pistols to learn how to clean them.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recruit Jerry Todd holds a large pad as fellow recruit Ed Anderson throws punches.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the Los Angeles Police Department recruit class line up for graduation at the LAPD academy in Elysian Park. The class began with 46 recruits, but at the end of their training, only 30 would graduate.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Before the badge ceremony, Kristen Vasalotti, left, and Erick Sandoval listen as a retired LAPD sergeant tells the story of the 1991 murder of LAPD Officer Tina Kerbrat, the first female LAPD officer to be killed in the line of duty.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

LAPD Officer Kristin Vasalotti kisses her children after her badge ceremony at the LAPD’s facility in Elysian Park.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles police recruit Clay Bell adjusts his hat while preparing for the badge ceremony.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Recruits wait to receive their service weapons.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

An instructor inspects recruits after they received their belts, holsters and other equipment.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Harbor Division Officer Vanessa Lopez waits to check out a shotgun for her patrol shift in Wilmington.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Officer Clay Bell uses a computer to check a suspect’s name for possible warrants while on patrol in the Newton Division.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Officer Clay Bell pats down a suspected gang member while on patrol in the Newton Division.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

LAPD Harbor Division Officer Vanessa Lopez on patrol in Wilmington. Lopez completed her one-year probationary period at the Harbor Division.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)