Partisanship has no place in regulatory bureaucracies
June 25, 2013T’bonne housing authority sued over harassment charges
June 25, 2013
The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office strengthened its already 200-strong force of deputies following the recent graduation of the department’s regional training academy.
“In a time of crisis, you will revert to that training,” St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert said as he thanked those who attended the Louisiana Peace Officer Standards and Training Basic Law Enforcement Academy ceremony. “Family and faith are a vital part of being a successful law enforcement officer.”
Fourteen students received their graduation certificates during the 53rd session of the academy. The ceremony was hosted at the Forest Restaurant in Franklin. Eleven of the students will join the sheriff’s office, while two will join the police force at Nicholls State University. One graduate will join the Franklin Police Department.
The new deputies are Michael Fontenot; Matthew Strickland; Bobby Glynn Jr.; Traci Landry; Christopher Richard; Carl Thornton; Heidi Sampey; Jennifer Lamaison; Patricia Vasquez; Jamie Moore and Mallory Phillips. Officers Laverne Chapman and Denise D’Andrea joined the Nicholls State University Police Department, and Officer Winifred Rodriguez joined the Franklin Police Department.
Several of the officers also received awards for their performances during the academy. Sampey received the Top Gun Award for the highest average score in firearm performance. She is also the first female in academy’s history to win the award out-right. Glynn received the Top Athlete Award for the highest average score in athletic performance. Moore was presented with the John Kahl Sr. Award of Excellence, which is given to a deputy who achieves the highest academic average.
Each of the 14 cadets completed the 14-week basic training academy and passed their POST test. The cadets learned about and were certified in subjects including criminal and traffic law, ethics and standards of conduct, first aid and CPR, crisis intervention, crime prevention, defensive tactics, firearms training and physical conditioning.
New deputy Landry hoped completing the academy will help her better perform the duties of her job as the department’s spokeswoman.
“I have gained a better understanding of how our patrol division works and have seen things from the perspective of patrol officers,” she said. “We were trained for all sorts of situations because you never know what’s coming.
“Some people think they know what policing is about. Officers can go from a domestic violence call to a car crash to receiving thanks from someone they may have helped. These officers go on a roller coaster ride on a daily basis. You learn the skills that you need to deal with these things.”
Landry joined the office as the department’s public information officer after earning a journalism degree and working at a television station, and the officer expects to use experiences on the road to further the department’s social media presence as she continues to serve as spokeswoman.
“I don’t know if I will go on patrol, but I may do ride-alongs with other graduates,” she said. “In the future, maybe we could feature things from those trips on our Facebook page or Twitter feed.”
Even though Landry will spend most of her time handling the office’s public relations needs, the new deputy had no trouble talking about what part of her law enforcement training she liked the most
“I really enjoyed the firearm training,” Landry said. “I’d never fired a gun before in that type of situation. I shot a gun at a target when I was a kid, but someone just handed me the gun, ready to go, and pointed it at the target.”
The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office recently graduated 14 cadets from its Louisiana Peace Officer Standards and Basic Law Enforcement Academy. At back, from left, are Captain Brian P. Charpentier, academy director; Deputy Michael Fontenet; Officer Winifred Rodriguez of the Franklin Police Department; Deputy Matthew Strickland; Deputy Bobby Glynn Jr.; Deputy Traci Landry; Deputy Christopher Richard; Deputy Carl Thornton and Captain Joe Clements, assistant academy director. At front, from left, Sergeant Dustin Crabtree, academy instructor; Deputy Heidi Sampey; Deputy Jennifer Lamaison; Deputy Patricia Vasquez; Deputy Jamie Moore; Officer Laverne Chapman, Nicholls State University Police Department and Deputy Mallory Phillips. Not pictured is Officer Denise D’Andrea of the Nicholls State University Police Department.
