Eric Holder Touts Police Hires as Stimulus Tour Lands in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder got two standing ovations. The crowd of more than 500 that filled every seat and stood along the walls at the police training academy on Friday had come for the swearing-in of 51 graduates in the latest class of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The training and four years' salary for 50 of them are covered by $8.5 million of federal stimulus dollars – which also brought the class keynote speaker Holder.

It's part of the Obama administration's one-year anniversary tour, highlighting benefits of the $787 billion stimulus package, which has been criticized as ineffective. But an increase in police officers on the streets was a sure-fire positive message. Holder said that the 50 positions "represent a small fraction of the 60,000 jobs that have been created or saved in North Carolina by these funds."

"Without the historic investment of last year's American Recovery and Investment Act, which was signed into law one year ago this week, we wouldn't be here today," he said. "Without the Recovery Act, the public safety needs and challenges these graduates will soon address here in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area may have gone unmet."

Holder referred to the class as his "colleagues" in law enforcement, and said "the dreams we share are many – safety, security, fairness, and -- ultimately -- justice."

Police Chief Rodney Monroe praised Holder as "a staunch supporter of law enforcement." The attorney general, in turn, recalled working with Monroe, who served in the Washington police department for 21 years, eventually rising to Assistant Chief of Police. Holder was a Clinton-nominated U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Last summer, the Charlotte police department found out that its application for the stimulus money had been approved, opening the way for new hires and financing of other needs. After the ceremony Friday, Monroe said in an interview that the department – with 1,725 officers -- would not have otherwise gotten the money that also covers uniforms and equipment. He was also able to bring back officers who had been laid off, he said, and the City Council "has made a strong statement" that the city will pick up the salary cost after four years.

It wasn't just Holder looking for some positive headlines. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has had its hiring practices criticized since a former officer was fired in December after several women said he pulled them over and sexually assaulted them. That officer faces criminal charges. Monroe said background checks missed information that would have stopped the officer from being hired. On Friday, Monroe said the department wants to "move forward...that's all we can do."