Professional tough guy Steven Seagal has played police officers in
Hollywood films, but his next role with law enforcement might not make
it into Variety.
In a meeting of the City Council’s public safety committee, police
director Larry Godwin said he has met twice with Seagal about doing
advertising for the department.
“He’s committed to doing our commercials,” Godwin said. “He gets a
million dollars a commercial, but he’s agreed to do it free of charge to
not only promote the Memphis police department, but Memphis, Tennessee.”
Enlisting Hollywood help is only one of the strategies the police
department is utilizing to recruit new officers.
Last year, the department struck down its college requirement, which
mandated that new recruits have at least some college or military
experience to join the department. Since then, Godwin said, about 1,000
people have applied; roughly a fourth of those applicants do not have
any college.
The city is also looking at relaxing residency requirements for police
officers, offering signing bonuses, and sweetening pension plans.
–Mary Cashiola