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Upper Arlington's First Citizen Police Academy Reaches a Successful Conclusion

Police Chief Column
By Police Chief Brian Quinn
As published in the SNP/Arlington News

A police officer can appear to many as a distant authority figure. The uniform and the accompanying belt equipped with gun, radio, pepper spray, handcuffs and more, send a strong message that reinforces his or her role enforcing the law.

By our own admission, we have a mindset that can set us apart. The role we perform puts us physically, even emotionally at risk every day. To be ready to perform our job to the best of our ability, we constantly undergo training. We are well aware that a situation could turn potentially deadly in a split second. We also work with many sensitive issues, oftentimes with legal considerations and life changing consequences for the people involved.

As a result we look at life a little differently, and learn to rely on those we know we can trust in an unpredictable situation – our fellow officers.

For many residents, while they may appreciate our presence in the community helping to keep them safe, many of their up close and personal experiences with the Police Division come about through a negative event – be it a burglary or a speeding ticket.

We wanted to put renewed effort into breaking down some of these barriers and began to consider new community outreach options for the division. On checking with other agencies on what they do, time and again the Citizen Police Academy topped the list as a great way to educate and forge new relationships in the community.

Fast-forward to today, and our first Upper Arlington Citizen Police Academy has sadly reached its conclusion. I say sadly, because this program has exceeded our expectations, and I believe all of us who have participated come away from the experience with new friendships, and a greater appreciation for how special this community is, from both sides of the aisle.

For 10 weeks I have watched members of my staff go above and beyond to share their knowledge and experiences with this 12-member class. All the participants have outwardly demonstrated how engaged and excited they were at the opportunity to be part of this program. They asked many questions, have developed a strong sense of camaraderie amongst themselves and the officers, and couldn’t wait to get to the practical hands-on sections of each class. The energy level was always high and contagious.

They have done it all: They have learned how to investigate crime scenes and effectively gather evidence; they have had their eyes opened to the seemingly endless frontier of Internet predators; they practiced traffic stops, learning the telltale signs of a potentially dangerous situation; they learned about firearm safety; they gained hands on self defense experience; and they even spent a night riding along with one of our officers. In many instances, they have undergone training scenarios that we routinely give to all our officers, gaining a unique perspective on what it takes to protect a community on many different levels.

Fortunately the end of the program does not mean we are bidding farewell to our 12 participants. Next on the horizon is an academy alumni group, and all signs indicate that many of our graduates want to continue growing their affiliation with our agency. The opportunities for this group are yet to be explored fully, but you can expect to see them alongside our officers at community events. We also hope to see new safety programs emerge thanks to their ideas, energies and fundraising efforts.

My sincere thanks to Sergeant Mike Nagode and Officers Don Stanko, and Greg Elllifritz for coordinating our first Citizen Police Academy. I also applaud the many other officers who participated at some point in the program: Officer Andy Wuertz; Sergeant Dan Quigley; Officer Heather Galli; Officer Jason Messer; Officer John Priest and Officer Brian Correll.

And hats off to our first graduating class: Jodi Allan; Erin Bainter; Stephanie Bell; Diana Blue; Lyle Brown; Shirley Christensen; Janet Christopher; Amanda Fountain; Molly Greenberg; Paul Kahle; John Monaghan; Ron Wigington.

Watch for details next spring of the 2007 Citizen Police Academy.

Police Division
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5150
www.ua-ohio.net