A new officer is on the streets with the Greer Police Department.
“I always had a thought in my head or in my heart that I wanted to do more,” said Officer Julius Thompson.
Officer Julius Thompson recently graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and was sworn into the Greer Police Department earlier this month, but his journey started long before taking his oath.
“ it was a very special moment for all of us because Julius was the recipient of our diversity scholarship through Greenville Tech that we started a couple of years ago,” said Police Chief Matt Hamby.
The scholarship started in 2021 for students at Greenville Tech and North Greenville University who are interested in local law enforcement.
“Our goal as a police department is to have a staff of people that reflect the diversity of our community that we serve,” said Chief Hamby.
Officer Thompson was one of the first recipients of that scholarship.
“It meant a lot to me that Greer saw me out of a lot of people in the upstate and chose me to give a scholarship to,” Thompson said.
Before graduation, he worked an internship with the department and eventually decided Greer was where he belonged.
“Once I got here, it felt like a big family with everybody, and it was just very welcoming,” Thompson said.
“We were fortunate enough that he applied to work here and we eventually hired him and so here he is today ,” Chief Hamby said.
Chief Matt Hamby says the scholarship is just one way they are hoping to increase diversity within the police force.
“We are trying to find ways to get creative to enhance the membership of our team with people from different backgrounds,” Hamby said.
Officer Thompson says he hopes he can be an inspiration to young people.
“When you’re a little kid they’re like i want to be a police officer. I want to be a fireman. Then life goes on and you kind of away from it//Inspiration for younger kids to grow up and be like I can be a police officer to one day if you wanted to.”