Last Friday evening, the commanders and I attended the graduation of the 100th Class of the Johnson County Regional Police Academy at the Carlson Center of the Johnson County Community College (JCCC). We had three recruits in this class. Our Honor Guard presented the Colors, while Shawnee Patrol Sergeant Ben Mendoza’s daughter Alyssa sang the National Anthem. The Honor Guard and Alyssa represented our department very well.
In 1960s, Johnson County experienced enormous growth, and the Sheriff, along with several other Police Chiefs, decided a formal police academy curriculum was needed. The late Johnson County Sheriff Fred Allenbrand, the former Overland Park Police Chief Myron Scafe, and the late Shawnee Police Chief Charlie Stump agreed to establish a formal academy specific to Johnson County.
In the fall of 1972, the first official regional academy was conducted on the campus of the JCCC. The current academy facility, located on the west side of the college campus, was dedicated in October 2001. The academy’s curriculum is designed to meet and exceed the State’s requirements, as well as the unique nature of policing the Johnson County community.
The Johnson County Regional Police Academy provides basic law enforcement training for officers from more than 30 Kansas agencies in the suburban Kansas City area. Successful completion of the 16-week academy results in certification as a Kansas Law Enforcement Officer. Recruits must be employed as a full-time law enforcement officer of an agency we serve before entering the police academy. The academy is operated in cooperation with the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, JCCC, and the Johnson County Chiefs and Sheriffs Association.
In closing, I would like to congratulate Shawnee Police Recruit Justin Cobb. Justin was awarded the Rick Staples Marksmanship Award and the Overall Achievement Award for his outstanding performance while attending the academy. Justin, and his Shawnee classmates, Jennifer Pennington and Josh Bayless, now start their post-academy training before entering our field training program.
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