POTEAU, Okla. – The Police Officer Training Academy at Kiamichi Tech graduated its second class of cadets on Friday, Dec. 9. Kiamichi Tech administration, academy instructors, friends and families celebrated the graduation of ten cadets at the Poteau Campus. The graduates of the academy are:
• Shawn Booth, Heavener Police Department
• Matthew Cox, Non-Commissioned Officer
• Jeremy Furr, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office
• Carlos Henson, Heavener Police Department
• Chance Leathers, Choctaw Nation Tribal Police
• Trent Mixon, Choctaw Nation Tribal Police
• Jason Pryor, Choctaw Nation Tribal Police
• Dillon Rice, Choctaw Nation Tribal Police
• Danny Smith, Choctaw Nation Tribal Police
• Stephanie Syrock, Poteau Police Department
The commencement ceremony included congratulatory remarks from Doug Hall, Kiamichi Tech Deputy Superintendent, a special video address to the graduates from Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, and a keynote address from Earl Morrison, Assistant Director of the Council on Law Enforcement Education & Training (CLEET).
“The program you have just completed is helping the state of Oklahoma be better prepared to protect the communities across our 77 counties,” said Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell. “To those who are graduating today, we can’t thank you enough. You are demonstrating the Oklahoma Standard, it makes us stronger communities and a stronger state.”
The academy garnered significant community, business and law enforcement support. The Community State Bank generously supported the academy from the early stages; and, along with Central National Bank and First National Bank supplied funding for student scholarships.
“At the inception of this Academy, we knew we wanted to bring a quality training program to our region that would play a pivotal role in the workforce development of the law enforcement sector,” said Doug Hall, Kiamichi Tech Deputy Superintendent. “To our faculty, staff, community partners and academy instructors, thank you for the investment you have made in the cadets and in this program.”
The CLEET accredited academy is a four-and-a-half-month program covering all facets of law enforcement education from driver training and firearms safety to defensive tactics and criminal investigations.
“This class dedicated endless hours to bettering themselves throughout their training and matched every intellectual hour with equal time in sweat equity,” said Shannen Hamby, Workforce and Economic Development Coordinator at Kiamichi Tech. “Tonight their hard work paid off. These graduates mean the world to me, and our communities are incredibly blessed to have these men and women protecting us.”
For more information about the Police Officer Training Academy and future classes, contact the Workforce and Economic Development Center at 918-647-4525 or email trainingpoteau@ktc.edu.
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