400 New NYPD Officers, Including One Who Knows Sign Language, Sworn In Under New Commissioner

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD now has 400 new police officers on the force.

The new recruits were sworn in Friday by Mayor Bill de Blasio and new police commissioner Dermot Shea at the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side.

The new class is the first to graduate under the new commissioner.

The latest class represents 21 different countries, and the new officers speak 34 languages, including one who knows sign language.

Twenty-one-year-old Angel Familia signed his way through the national anthem at Friday's NYPD police academy graduation, right before he graduated himself.

Even though an unwavering number of NYPD's graduates' second language is English, he is one of the first whose native tongue is spoken with his hands, and one of 10 officers who knows sign language.

The rookie cop was raised by two deaf parents in the South Bronx. Familia is not deaf himself, but he told CBSN New York's John Dias sign language is the only language he knew until he was 7 years old.

Growing up, he had to translate for his parents, even at parent-teacher conferences.

"There was this one time, this teacher is saying, 'He is throwing paper balls in class,' and I told my mom, 'Yeah, no. I'm getting all As.' And my mom noticed the facial expression of the teacher, that she seemed upset, and so she caught on," Familia said.

He attended speech therapy sessions until he got to high school and even taught his younger siblings to speak English and use sign language.

"I'm very proud. Also, my parents are very proud of me. We came a long way," Familia said.

Familia translated his mother's sign language, saying, "She felt the chills rushing through her body and she is happy that my son has become a New York City police officer."

Now as an official American Sign Language linguistic for the NYPD, he wants to bridge the gap between police officers and the deaf community living in New York City.

"The deaf community is not acknowledged, so it's important that we reach out and, you know, make public events and even if it's just knowing the basic signs, to make conversations," Familia said.

The most recent numbers show 208,000 New Yorkers are deaf or hard of hearing.

"He is going to help the NYPD to relate to and connect to many New Yorkers who need help but wouldn't know where to turn to unless there was someone who had that gift," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

His badge may show a sign of bravery, but his hands show a sign of unity.

Familia will be stationed in Manhattan's 19th police precinct on the Upper East Side.

In:
• New York City Police Department
• Bill de Blasio
• Dermot Shea