“They both attended the 147th basic class,” Rockel said, “which takes 16 weeks with 860 hours of intense study and training.”

Rockel said that Taylor and Marcum would begin working on Monday, Nov 7. This, Rockel said, is the last free weekend they’ll have for a while.

“I told them they had better enjoy it,” Rockel said, laughing. “Because you won’t get too many of those.”

The new officers were truly pushed to the limit, as not everyone can endure the course, Rockel said.

“They actually started out with 48 cadets and graduated only 38 of them.”

With these two new officers, the Chief said that a night foot-patrol would begin in Williamson next weekend, Nov. 11 and 12.

This foot-patrol would involve an officer walking the streets of the city and shaking on business doors, making sure they are locked. A card, stating an officer had been there at a certain time, would then be slid under the door.

Rockel said that if a break-in were to occur, there would be a timeframe now as to when it may have happened.

Not only will the foot-patrol be making sure doors are locked, it will also allow for an increased sense of security for people out late at night and possibly prevent crimes before they have a chance to occur.

Rockel said he is anxious for them to get to work so that the WPD can increase its patrols.

“I am very proud of both of them,” Rockel said. “As well as the whole department.”

It is nice to see new officers that are graduating the Police Academy.  Considering the cut backs all over, people often forget that officers retire and new officers need to hit the streets to take their place.  Congratulations Officer Brad Purdom.

Newport’s newest police officer graduates from training academy

The Newport Police Department’s newest officer, Brad Purdom, graduated from the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) Police Academy on Sept. 16 after his enrollment in Basic Police Class 326 on …

Publish Date: 09/30/2011 12:17

http://www.newportnewstimes.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=30303&page=72

They packed the Fire Training Center’s auditorium , congratulating graduates with cheers and applause as each took a certificate of graduation.

With Director Hugh Lennon doing the introductions, the police academy class graduated 16 police officers, including four for the Rockland Sheriff’s Department and, for the first time, graduates for Amtrak police.

Four people graduated as part of the Rockland Community College pre-employment program. If they get hired as officers, they would only be required to take defensive tactics and firearm training.

Sheriff’s Chief Louis Falco gave the graduates and audience an overview of policing, from crime scenes to patrols and terrorism on the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

“With an ever-changing world, we as first responders become the first line of defense in our villages, towns, counties and states and cannot afford to become complacent,” Falco said.

He told the audience that families sometimes take second place as law enforcement “is one of the most demanding and self-sacrificing professions in our society.”

Falco said there are many traits the graduates can’t be taught.

“This police academy and its staff has taught you a lot, but they can’t teach you integrity, good judgment, honor or how to be compassionate,” Falco said.

“Treat everyone the way you or one of your family members would want to be treated if the situation was reversed,” Falco said. “In our profession, you must give respect if you want to get respect.”

Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe also provided some insight into law enforcement from what he’s observed over more than three decades. He said being a police officer is not for the faint of heart and requires courage.

He noted first responders rush into danger to save lives while people are running for safety.

With competing police academies in the region, Friday marked the first graduation in Rockland this year. The academy usually has two graduating classes. It has been accepting students who take the 24-week course through Rockland Community College. The cost is about $3,000.

The students attended class one night a week for 10 weeks, learning and participating in group discussions with the officers and other agency personnel to gain a better understanding about the police department’s function, daily operations, as well as crime prevention strategies.

Participants learned about traffic enforcement, crime scene investigation, search and seizure laws, crime prevention, neighborhood watch, recruitment and training, patrol procedures, communications, special projects and programs, and personal protective measures. As part of the course, citizens rode along with officers and attended a firing range demonstration and were allowed to shoot weapons.

Captain Jeff Mingledorff, event coordinator, said, “These experiences, along with the two-way communication that is established, furthers our efforts in improving the quality of life for residents and businesses throughout the city.”

Those interested in attending the next Citizen Police Academy should contact Capt. Mingledorff at 672-4903.

Thirty-one police officers from six departments in New Jersey and Alternate Route Trainees graduated after completing a 22-week training program at the Cape May County Police Academy.  The Academy is the only residential based training center in the state of New Jersey for municipal recruit training.

The class started with a physical fitness average of 80.3 percent and finished with an average of 91 percent. The class final academic average was 91.56 percent and their firearm average was 94.5 percent, according to county officials.  The class president is Alternate Route Recruit Thomas Pizillo who was elected by members of the class.  The class motto is, “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.”

Individual Awards are as follows:

High Academic Award: John Cercatore, Alternate Route – 96.25 percent, Vehicle Operations Award: Recruit Daniel R. Lang, Jr., Alternate Route – 28.58 sec., Physical Fitness Award:  Diego D. Pinheiro, Alternate Route – 100 percent, Firearms Award:  Officer Brady M. Carr, Middletown Township Dept.- 100 percent and Directors Award – Overall Class Ranking number 1:  Colin R. Lockwood, Alternate Route.

The police recruits have completed 1,088 hours of police training over 27 weeks.

City of Amarillo Municipal Court Judge Donna Clayton will swear in the 11 new officers during the graduation ceremony. The new officers will be assigned to Uniform Division and will continue training while riding with a field-training officer for the next four months.

APD will have 307 officers when the new recruits are added. APD is conducting background investigations on applicants for the 80th Police Academy set to begin June 2.

With six graduates heading to places far and wide across South Jersey Ð like the Atlantic County and Cumberland County Sheriffs’ Departments, Mullica Township and the Joint Base Police Ð and seven graduating from the Alternate Route program, the Gloucester County Police Academy graduated its 39th Class after 20 weeks of intense training.

Two of those graduates come from Gloucester County itself. Officers Dominic R. Liberto and Eric M. Petroski herald from West Deptford and National Park, respectively.

Liberto was honored particularly when those in attendance were made aware that coming in as a cadet, he’d weighed 50 pounds more than he did the night of graduation.

“It’s a relief, it’s been a long 20 weeks,” Petroski said. “Day-in, day-out, waking up every morning, staying here until the sun goes down. It was something new for me. We have so many opportunities now. We could go anywhere we really want. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and finding a department that wants a good officer.”

Liberto said the ideals and morals taught to him during his tenure as a cadet helped him grow as an officer of the law and learn the facets of being more than just a rule enforcer Ð that it can be about compassion, understanding and upholding what is just.

“I think I’ll be coming away from this with a lot,” he said. “You learn a lot of things here, especially dedication and what it means to be a police officer. It’s a relief, but I also feel going forward I’m ready to go and prepared for this job ahead of me. We’d wake up in the morning thinking about the academy, all day you’re concentrating. You go home and you’re still thinking about it. This is honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Chief Jeff Godfrey of the Greenwich Township Police Department was the keynote speaker for the event. He shared with the new officers a touching story of personal loss and how, in life, attitude can mean everything.

“(My daughter) was home for the weekend Ð as she usually was Ð working as a waitress,” Godfrey told the room. “She left the house that Sunday, Dec. 9, she was going to go to work and then return to the university for final exams the next morning. What we didn’t know at the time, when she left that afternoon three years ago today, it would be the last time I ever saw my daughter again.”

At 11:30 p.m. three years ago, Godfrey’s daughter failed to negotiate a turn in terrible weather conditions and struck a tree. She was not found until the following morning.

“I had over 25 years in, I could’ve walked away and retired,” he said. “I could’ve easily walked away and sat home. There were days I wanted to do just that … It’s about perception. It’s about your choice and the attitude that you want to embrace.”

That’s 18 fresh faces to be exact. Each of the graduates will have over 1,000 hours under their belt, but that’s just the start of their training.

Matt Brown is the public affairs officer for the Springfield Police Department.

“Once they have completed the training, [and] have passed all of the tests that they are supposed to pass, then they go to what they call a field training officer or FTO process and that’s 13 weeks. It’s right at 520 hours,” says Brown.

The FTO process is an on the job training program that allows newbies to job shadow officers with more experience. After that training is over, they’re on their own, almost. Once they’re set free, each officer is closely monitored for an additional 1528 hours before they’re the real deal.

Brown says getting newly trained officers on the streets of Springfield is a necessity.

“We lose officers that move on to other positions, that retire, that quit for various reasons. It is a backfill to the positions that we have open now. So, having additional officers on the streets means that we’re able to do the basic services that the community expects of us: Answering 911 calls [and] follow-up investigations. It’s critical that we backfill the positions that we lose every year,” says Brown.

Sixteen of the 18 officers graduating this week hold bachelors degrees from various colleges. A few of the graduates hold prior military experience as well.

The graduation ceremony will be held December 10th at the Springfield Art Museum.

For KSMU News, I’m Chasity Mayes.

The academy, which began in June, graduated its first class Wednesday night at the Owen Theatre witnessed by elected officials, fellow police officers, family and friends.

“We are here because these men and women have chosen to dedicate themselves to be public servants,” Conroe Mayor Webb Melder said. “We thank you and ask the Lord to put his hand on you to protect you and bless you.”

The academy’s first class trained in all aspects of law enforcement for 24 weeks at the FBI’s gun range in south Conroe.

“We’re going to teach them the basics and make sure they have the capability of being certified,” Sgt. Bob Berry said. “We stress a lot of hands on training, like in the mechanics of arrests, traffic stops, clearing a building.”

Instructors from all areas within the department gave the trainees instruction in the different aspects of law, including criminal procedure, penal code and health and safety codes.

The cadets also were exposed to physical agility, which included jogging and running.

“We’re trying to get these cadets both mentally and physically prepared to take the job,” Berry said.

The 12 officers include 10 men and one woman who were hired as patrol officers with the CPD when the academy started. An 11th male graduate will become a patrol officer with the South Houston Police Department.

“We have taken your everyday men and women and transferred them into incredible officers,” CPD Chief Philip Dupuis said. “You’re part of many first achievements. At no time has the CPD ever hired 11 officers at once.”

The 11 CPD officers passed their certification exam with 90 percent average on their first try, Dupuis said.

“I’m very proud of this accomplishment,” Dupuis said. “Remember your ethics and be honest and do what is right.”

For 35-year-old Officer Jason Davidson, of Conroe, the police academy offered a second chance at life.

“I started out in sales and was laid off from that job and found myself working for Olive Garden a a server,” Davidson said. “I always wanted to be a police officer and was drawn to it.”

Davidson said he was waiting tables and decided that now was as good a time to become an officer.

“This is something I wanted to do since I was a child,” Davidson said. “I applied (to the academy) and they blessed me with an opportunity and privilege to join.”

The officers, who were presented their badges and had them pinned by family members, will now face nine weeks of field training as they ride along with their training officers.

After the initial probation, the new officers will be released on the streets by themselves, but will be on continued probation for 10 additional months.

Officers also were awarded with class honors for best physical training, weapon training and overall students.

Instructors with the academy also were recognized by the CPD.

Jamie L. Bridges can be reached at jbridges@hcnonline.com.

The three new officers were all part-time reserve officers with the police department prior to their graduation for academy. According to Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper, the addition of the new officers brings the total number of patrol officers within the department to 30, a good number for a city of Cullman’s size.

“It is hard to pinpoint what the ideal number of officers within the department would be,” said Culpepper. “Sometimes things are quiet and you seem to have too many and other times you need ten times the officers you have, it is a constant balancing act.”

Officers Matt Scholsser, Intae Suh, and Clint Sanford completed their 12-week training at the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy (LEA) on the satellite campus of Jacksonville State University located in Fort McClellan. The three officers have begun working full time with the city police department this weekend, according to Culpepper.

Schlosser said that his interest in law enforcement has been lifelong but he didn’t pursue it until completing a degree program for a much different field.

“I got a degree in accounting,” he said. “But I don’t think that is for me, I don’t want to sit in a cubicle and work.”

The 24 year old has been working as a reserve officer with the department since January of 2009 and is eager to get out and patrol on his own.

“I’m excited to start working and learning new things,” said Schlosser. “It’s a job where every day is a little different from the last and I like that.”

For Clint Sanford a career in law enforcement is nearly a family tradition.

“I have a lot of family members involved with law enforcement,” he said. “And growing up, I always thought that that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”

The 22 year old completed an associates degree in criminal justice prior to attending the academy and spent time as a reserve officer.

His colleague, 23-year-old Intae Suh, also completed a degree in the law enforcement field — a bachelor’s degree in criminology.

“I’ve always been interested in law enforcement,” said Suh. “I’m excited that I am in the position now to serve the community that I grew up in.”

According to Culpepper, law enforcement agencies in the are hiring more officers now than in the time immediately following the economic slowdown.

“Nationally, law enforcement agencies were forced to make a lot of cuts due to lacking funding over the past few years,” he said. “But as we see the economy come back I think a lot of cities like Cullman will fill many of those positions back.”

* Sam Rolley can be reached by e-mail at srolley@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 225.