Eric Holder Attends Charlotte Police Academy Graduation; Touts Stimulus

U.S. Attorney General Attends CMPD Graduation


U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Friday the Obama administration's $787 billion federal stimulus package has helped put dozens of new police officers on the streets in North Carolina's largest city.

Charlotte is using $8.5 million in stimulus money to hire 50 new police officers.

"Without the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we wouldn't be here today," Holder told 500 people who attended a graduation ceremony at the city's Police Training Academy.

Holder's visit was part of the Obama administration's effort to mark the one-year anniversary of the stimulus legislation.

The administration says the package created or saved more than 2 million jobs, including 60,000 in North Carolina. Critics say it's done little to turn around the nation's faltering economy.

Charlotte Police Chief Rodney Monroe said the stimulus has been a blessing for his department.

The money has been allocated to pay for the salaries of 50 new officers over the next four years, he said. After that, the city will absorb the costs. The starting salary for police officers, including benefits, averages about $45,000 a year, depending on education. With the new class, the city of nearly 687,000 people will have 1,725 police officers.

"There would have been no class without the money," Monroe said in an interview after the ceremony.

When he took over the department nearly two years ago, Monroe said he wanted to expand the force, but the city didn't have the money.

The city has been facing serious financial problems. With the nation's banking meltdown, Charlotte has lost thousands of good-paying financial services jobs. Bank of America, one of the nation's largest banks, is headquartered in Charlotte. So was Wachovia, which was bought by Wells Fargo. For years, construction cranes symbolized the city's explosive growth. Now, many of the downtown projects have stalled.

"The stimulus has been great for the department," Monroe said. "It's allowing us to expand our office and that's going to help the city."


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Sources: MSNBC, McClatchy Newspapers, Google Maps