Law enforcement agencies nationwide participate in job fair at Temple

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- More than 70 law enforcement agencies from around the country participated in a job fair at Temple University Saturday, hoping to find new recruits.

Philadelphia police teamed up with the university to host the "Diversity in Law Enforcement Job Fair" where local, state, and federal departments set up tables and offered information to candidates.

"I have a lot of relatives and friends in the law enforcement field. I wanted to be a cop ever since I was a child," said Jermaine Carpenter from Berlin, New Jersey.

"We know we have over 60 different ethnic groups in the city and we want to have more voice in this industry so we can learn more about people, so we can be better in delivery of service in this community," said Captain John Walker with the Philadelphia Police Department.

He says recruiting right now is vital with more than 900 jobs open in the city.

"A lot of things you want to do you can't do because you don't have the manpower. And a lot of the things we want to do -- put more cops on foot, put more officers on bikes in communities, having more community engagement -- requires people," said Walker.

One of those officers is Giovanni Maysonet, who was shot during a traffic stop in February. As he navigates his recovery, he came to this event with a message for new recruits.

"I just wanna get back to being myself again," said Maysonet. "It's the best job in the world. It's the best, even after going through what I went through. It's still the best job in the world."

For anyone who missed this event but is interested in joining specifically Philadelphia police, applications open June 5.