NORTH CAROLINA POLICE CORPS HOLDS GRADUATION CEREMONY

15 Officers Graduate From North Carolina Police Corps Academy

 

SALEMBURG – The North Carolina Police Corps graduated 15 highly-trained police cadets on Friday, Dec. 17 in Jones Auditorium at the North Carolina Justice Academy in Salemburg. Michael Costigan, director of the Office of Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education, Washington, D.C. delivered the keynote address.

Upon graduation, these new officers will perform community patrol for various law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolina and Virginia. North Carolina is one of 24 states and territories that recruit and train college graduates to serve four years as community police officers through a program funded by the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.

“This graduation is the culmination of a rigorous 24-week training program that teaches the knowledge, skills and professional standards police officers need to serve on community patrol,” said Bryan Beatty, secretary of the Dept. of Crime Control and Public Safety. “These outstanding young men and women have met high performance standards for physical, mental and emotional fitness, and I congratulate each of them on their achievement.”

The Police Corps has a competitive college scholarship program for students who agree to work in a state or local police force for at least four years. Scholarship funds cover education expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, transportation, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses.

The graduates of the North Carolina Police Corps program will join 11 North Carolina and Virginia law enforcement agencies. Those agencies include: Asheville Police Dept., Cary Police Dept., Dare County Sheriff’s Office, East Carolina University Police Department, Fayetteville Police Dept., Garner Police Dept., Henderson Police Dept., Marion Police Dept., New Bern Police Dept., Waynesboro Police Dept., Winston-Salem Police Dept. These agencies will assign the new officers to community patrol within their jurisdictions.

The graduating Police Corps officers are: Christopher Ball of Hendersonville, NC; Marc-Anthony Carmona of Statesville, NC; Benjamin Deese of Willow Springs, NC; Erin Ellerman of Greenville, NC; George Jenkins of Raleigh, NC; Marcus Kirk of Hope Mills, NC; Virginia Laughlin of Montvale, VA; Nathan Lusk of Pembroke, NC; George Moore, Jr. of Greenville, NC; Ivan Pechtel of Winston-Salem, NC; Justin Sasser of Hallsboro, NC; Tiffany Silsbee of Cary, NC; Joshua Smith of Kernersville, NC; William Watson of White Lake, NC; and Harry White, III of Plymouth, NC.

For information about the North Carolina Police Corps program contact Janet Sauls at 919-773-2823. Information is also available through the Dept. of Crime Control and Public Safety website at: www.nccrimecontrol.org (Divisions/Law Enforcement Support Services/Police Corps).