The New York Police Department is adding 10 Orthodox Jews, including one woman, to their ranks. The New York Post reports this is the largest Orthodox contingent ever in the department’s latest cadet class.
The Police Department has welcomed the new recruits, who are excused from working after dusk on Shabbat and on Jewish holidays. The Orthodox recruits graduate from the Police Academy in December along with 1,218 classmates.
“This class is going to be the ice breaker,” cadet Shmuel Tenenbaum said. “The next class is going to have 30 or 40.” According to the report, recruit Jesse Cohen, 34, said that when he said he was going to become a policeman, "his parents were convinced he was meshugeneh, but eventually they relented."