The Las Cruces Police Department will graduate 13 cadets from its state-certified law enforcement training academy on Friday afternoon.
The commencement ceremony – the 42nd for the Las Cruces Police Department – will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, in the auditorium of the Dona Ana Community College East Mesa Campus, at 2800 N. Sonoma Ranch Blvd. The ceremony is open to the public.
The cadets expected to graduate that day are Stephanie Carabajal, Jared Cosper, George Dominguez, Adrian Gonzales, Connie Heard, Angel Medina, Miguel Moore, Ryan Postenrieder, Juan Roman, Jeremy Salinas, Jason Sauceda, Jonathan Stinnett and Eden Terrazas.
All 13 cadets have completed rigorous training exercises and passed comprehensive state exams that make them eligible to receive their New Mexico peace officer certification. The education LCPD cadets receive exceeds the requirements established by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety.
The Las Cruces Police Department’s 21-week academy provides more than 1,000 hours of law enforcement education and training. The bulk of the academy, roughly 75 percent of it, is classroom instruction while the remaining 25 percent consists of field training in and around Las Cruces.
Upon graduation each police cadet will be assigned to an experienced field training officer who will guide them on an additional 14 weeks of instruction before they are assigned to regular duty.
The Las Cruces Police Department’s next training academy is tentatively scheduled to begin in the fall of 2013.