The City of Akron will look to use federal funds to hire 12 new police officers with military backgrounds to help patrol the streets.

Public Safety Chair and Ward 9 Councilman Mike Freeman says $1.5 million from the U.S Department of Justice would be used to bring in the officers.

"The approximately 12 new officers hired under the grant must be veterans that served in active duty on or after September of 2001," Freeman said.

Akron City Council unanimously voted on the agreement between the city and the Federal Government to implement veterans into the police force through a grant from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.

Akron Councilman Mike Freeman by Akron NewsNow

The city says once the civil service exams are given, those personnel, some of whom have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan will have an opportunity to obtain a full-time job with benefits once they return to the States.

Freeman says the program is an excellent way of showing the veterans appreciation for their service to our country.

"We just think it's a good way to honor the veterans and show them we appreciate this," Freeman explained.

"The city voted on something like this a few years ago and it went very well, and we just look forward to seeing these new hires come on."

The councilman says that having these veterans, who are already trained in conflict resolution and other disciplines will be ready to handle the rigors of being an Akron police officer once they are hired. 

In June, U.S Senator Sherrod Brown helped the city secure the grant to bring the veterans to the workforce and have them serve the community as members of the APD.