Fifteen (15) new Deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will graduate from the Sheriff’s Office Training Academy this week.

“We are pleased to have these new Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office. They are to be commended for serving the community in such a vitally important way,” says Shelby County Sheriff Mark H. Luttrell, Jr.

For the past 26 weeks, the Deputies have been part of a rigorous training course which included firearms instruction, physical agility, and Sheriff’s Office policies and procedures.

The graduation ceremony will be held Thursday night, April 10 at Hope Presbyterian Church, 8500 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, Tennessee, at 7 p.m. Shelby County Environmental Court Judge Larry Potter will be the keynote speaker.

Click to view a photo gallery of the Graduation (Flash Gallery)

With this Thursday night’s graduation, the Sheriff’s Office will have 540 full-time commissioned Deputies serving in various bureaus at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. The new Deputies will be assigned to the Patrol Bureau.

Two (2) Officers from the Memphis International Airport Police Department will also graduate Thursday night. The Officers attended the 600-hour training session with the 15 Sheriff’s Deputies.