Three detention officers to become Vernon County Deputies

Although it has been a little while, I can still remember the first day I walked into the classroom at the MSSU Police Academy. Determined this was what I wanted to do, I still had last minute doubts as one of the instructors came into the room for the first time, did role call and told us to get up because we were going for a run before we did anything else. That would set the pace for the rest of the academy, and each day after the first was full of excitement, adrenalin, fatigue, and education all wrapped into one.

On our first day of orientation, our instructor told us the academy was very physical and at least one person broke a bone during defensive tactics training each year. I was not sure if this was a joke or not, and decided he must be trying to scare us just a little. We made into the second month of the academy when one of my class mates broke his leg during defensive tactics.

When you see cops on television, they are always chasing people on foot or in their cars, making some dramatic scene of catching the bad guy, throwing him in a patrol car and then heading towards the next call. Like most things you see on television, you can imagine there is a little more to police work than that, and the intensity of the training surprises most people when they start an academy class.

Besides the hundreds of hours you spend in a classroom studying criminal law, civil law, the constitution, use of force concepts, and other topics like explosives, hazardous materials, child abuse, domestic assault, investigations, medical treatment and more; you also go through physical training, defensive tactics, pursuit/defensive driving, firearms training, and first responder training. It is all crammed into 700 hours of training, and when you are done, you must complete the state P.O.S.T exam.

Next, you start your career at a law enforcement agency and began to learn how to do the job in a world that no longer has soft mats for fighting on, someone standing by you to tell you when you are messing up, and no more second chances when a gun is involved. You do not get to evaluate what you should have done or should do next, but instead you must answer for what you did do and explain why you did it. There is little room for error and one small mistake could cost you or someone else their life.

I have great respect for anyone who chooses to undergo this type of training and then work in a field where you carry a gun and are officially told to confront violent people who wish to harm you, and do it all for very little pay. This coming Thursday, three members of the Vernon County Sheriff's Office (currently working as detention officers) will graduate the MSSU Police Academy. It has been a long hard journey for them because they have continued to work at the jail in their full-time positions while attending the academy in the night classes.

They will began their field training for the patrol unit and will find that being able to help others and serve our community makes the risk one worth taking. Aristotle said, "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." I would like to congratulate each one of them and hope to see them all succeed as they start a new chapter in their careers as a Vernon County Deputy.