Roanoke police graduates 9 officers, but vacancies remain

The Roanoke Police Department added nine officers to its ranks last week as recruits graduated from the city's academy.

But as of last month, the department still had 42 vacancies.

Substantial numbers of job vacancies have been an issue in the city, in the region, in the state and across the country in recent years.

"The City of Roanoke pulls the numbers for vacancies at the Roanoke Police Department once a year for media inquiries," city Communications Manager Carol Corbin said in an email. "There are 42 vacancies, which includes all ranks of sworn officers. This data was pulled in October 2024."

The academy also trains Roanoke County Police Department recruits, but none of Friday's graduates will work for that agency.

"The County PD anticipates having 4 or 5 total vacancies by the end of November," Roanoke County Public Information Officer Amy Whittaker wrote in an email.

Among Friday's graduates were Crescent Isaac-Muhammad, a wife and mother of two, and Craig Fortini, leader of the academy's 88th class. They currently reside in Roanoke and said they hope to provide protection and to build bridges to the community.

"I have always had this personal belief that I am to help people, protect those who cannot protect themselves," Fortini said. "I took it upon myself to take this as my opportunity to do exactly that, and this is giving me the absolute chance to do it."

"I'm from New York City," Isaac-Muhammad said. "Growing up in New York, there was a lot of negativity and a lot of a gap between the community and the police force, and I wanted to change that, and I believe the best way to do that is from the inside. That's why I became a police officer."

Isaac-Muhammed said her class has become a team over the last 27 weeks of training.

"That's what you need when you're out there on the streets, to know that your team has your back, to know that you've gone through the same things, you have the same training," she said. "The last 27 weeks have really been great for us becoming closer and being prepared to be part of that thin blue line."

"They have been both tough and rewarding all the same. There have been so many different types of training that we've gone through that is extremely in depth, and it's a vein of gold. It is incredibly useful and very wonderful," Fortini said. "I'm looking forward to getting out there and interacting with the community and really making that difference."

"I'm looking forward to interacting with community, as well as my fellow officers," Isaac-Muhammad added, "gaining all the knowledge that they have, just getting involved with things that I may not have thought would be something I was attracted to, or something we see. Just not having a the same thing every day, getting into new stuff."

Emma Coleman

(540) 981-3198

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