3 recruits join Costa Mesa Police Department

Costa Mesa police added three recruits this week as the city tries to fill a backlog of vacancies at the department.

The three trainees graduated Tuesday after six months at the Orange County Sheriff’s Regional Training Academy in Tustin.

Shane Anderson, Isidro Gallardo and Daniel Holl will start six months of field training with more-experienced officers at the Costa Mesa Police Department.

In August, an unusually large class of five graduates joined the department. But the flow of recruits in recent months has not closed a gap created by unfilled positions.

Vacancies accumulated for years as the city declined to hire officers while it restructured the department and council members pushed for more-sustainable benefits for police.

In December 2012, the department announced its first new hire since 2008.

Costa Mesa has hired 31 police officers in the past two years, according to city spokesman Bill Lobdell. But 45 officers left in that period.

Fully staffed, the CMPD would have 136 officers. In June, there were 30 vacancies; now there are 29, according to the city.

Twenty officers are unable to work because of injuries or military service, leaving the department with 87 available officers.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck