The ceremony was held at 10 a.m. to graduate 57 new officers, including six Allegheny County police officers, four new Allegheny County sheriff deputies and one officer for the district attorney.

Nine others will now be working for police departments in Allegheny and Beaver Counties.

The other 37 graduates paid their way through the academy and will now be looking for a position with local police departments.

Twelve police cadets will graduate from the Academy. The Rocky Mount Police Department extended and invitation to the community to celebrate the graduates’ accomplishments.

Eight of these cadets were hired as part of a grant received from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services COPS Hiring Recovery Program (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).

The department also will recognize additional newly hired officers working within the Uniform Operations Division.

The group was Chief Stan Standridge’s first, and the cadets were the first class to give a donation to a member of the community, Love & Care Ministries.

“It’s exciting to see that even before they graduated, they gave an example of what it means to serve those they protect by giving Pastor Mark Hewitt a love offering,” Standridge said. “These new officers embody what makes this community so unique — which is Christian values carried out through human interactions.”

The class is made up of 15 cadets — 13 men and two women. Their ages range from 21 to 41 years old. During the next phase of their training, the 15 cadets will be fully ready to serve the city after 16 weeks of training with senior officers on the street.

Not one but two graduates were the department’s first African-American women to graduate from the academy. A third generation officer and a married couple will also join the department.

Brittney Martinez, who is married to fellow cadet Paulino Martinez and one of the first minority women cadets, said she’s now just ready to begin working.

“I feel like I learned all I can from the academy, and now I can get out there,” Martinez said.

Brittney Martinez said she applied for the academy after her husband did. For Paulino, becoming a police officer was something he always wanted. Brittney said the two would have been excited for either one to graduate.

“We never imagined both of us would ever get the opportunity to work for the Abilene Police Department,” she said.

But having each other’s support during the 25-week training helped them, she said. The Martinezes are the first married couple to graduate from the APD academy, Standridge said. “We were both going through the same thing. He understood I had to study, and I understood he had to study,” she said.

As far as being one of the first minority women on the force, Martinez said she feels no different from the other cadets.

“I think it’s great that there’s finally (a minority woman) in the force, but I feel just like a regular cadet,” Martinez said. “I accomplished something, and I’m now an officer. I’m not special or anything, just blessed to be a part of it.”

Panya Washington, like Brittney, said she was excited and honored Friday night.

“It’s something that I decided to do within the past couple of years. My goals in life changed, and I decided I wanted to become a police officer,” said Washington of why she decided to apply to the academy. “I just wanted to give back and serve. I like people.”

Another first in the academy, Cory Davis became the department’s first third-generation cadet, joining his father and current APD Officer James Davis.

The third-generation Davis said becoming a police officer has been “the only real option for me and what I’m wanting to do,” he said. “It’s literally a fulfillment of a lifelong dream.”

The class started off with 20 recruits but only 13 made it through the academy, bringing LPD’s total to 374 sworn officers. That’s 48 shy of the 422 authorized amount of officers the city should have.

“More and more folks are coming to Lubbock all the time, and as they do that the department has to grow too so we’re always chasing that eelusive two per thousand,” said Coelusiveorey Nunley in charge of LPD’s Recruiting Department.

Nunley says they try to do everything possible to attract new officers, even though City Council refused to pass a pay raise earlier this year.

“A pay raise is always great and it would definitely make a difference as far as being able to attract more people but we still get quality people,” said Nunley.

On top of that many officers can retire soon.

“There could be up to 100 officers eligible for retirement in the next five years, but that doesn’t mean 100 officers are going to,” said Nunely.

However with the new openings, come new opportunities.

“Your opportunity to move around inside the department, to go to one division to another whether it be patrol or homicide or swat team or investigates position increases over a stagnant department,” said Nunley.

The academy has graduated more than 120 officers in the past four years, many of which stay in Lubbock, and recruiters hope to draw in more people from out of town as well.

“We are making headway. It’s just one of those things we’re not going to sacrifice quality for quantity,” said Nunley.

In just two weeks, the academy will get 21 new recruits to start off the New Year. That academy starts January 4th and will be the first of two classes during 2010.

The Police Academy graduating class will have 13 members: eight from the pilot program, which included Alpharetta Department of Public Safety’s reserve volunteer officers, and five from the College’s first class. All have completed 408 hours of mandate training.

Acting director of the Police Academy Heath Holcomb see distinct advantages in this new option for training and educating future officers: “Reinhardt’s Police Academy offers an enhanced curriculum and skilled instructors with the practical experience and the academic credentials to provide classroom instruction that helps students become better officers. Also our graduates will enter the field with an improved understanding of their responsibilities and expectations.”

Class member Phil B. Baldwin appreciated the real-world experience and immediacy instructors added to the text-book material. “The great thing is that you are working and learning with instructors who are not only trained in the field, but are currently working in that field. They bring real stories and scenarios into the classroom.”

Reinhardt officials also see the new academy as meeting community needs. “Part of Reinhardt’s mission is to meet the ongoing educational needs of professionals and the local community, and we are very proud of the contribution these graduates will make to our community and the skills and knowledge they will bring to the workplace,” said Reinhardt President Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood.

Reinhardt Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Margaret “Peg” O’Connor said Reinhardt’s program encourages students to consider their options for advancement, even as they start their careers in public safety. “In working with officials from John’s Creek, Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell and Sandy Springs, plus Cherokee County and other interested communities in the Northern Crescent to create the College’s Public Safety Institute, I learned that many of these agencies require candidates who are seeking promotions to have college degrees. Reinhardt’s Police Academy will enable new officers to begin working toward a degree as they gain their initial certification. Then they can continue with our associate degree in criminal justice and then our degree completion program in public safety management and leadership. All these programs are designed specifically for first responders.”

O’Connor said Reinhardt is seeking applicants for the Police Academy’s second class which will start in January 2010. “Prospective applicants for the January term are encouraged to make their interest known by calling 770-720-5922 or e-mailing RES@reinhardt.edu,” she said. More information is available on the college’s website

The Connecticut State Police graduated 73 new State Troopers, all members of the 117th Training Troop. Department of Public Safety Commissioner Leonard C. Boyle and Colonel Edward Lynch, Commanding Officer of the State Police, congratulated the graduating class during a ceremony at Jorgensen Auditorium at the University of Connecticut. Gov. M. Jodi Rell was the keynote speaker at the event. The 117th training troop entered the Connecticut