New law enforcement officers graduate from training academy - WLOX

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - The 2022 Class of the Harrison County Law Enforcement Training Academy are proudly wearing their uniforms, ready to protect the people of South Mississippi.

The academy held its graduation ceremony at MGCCC’s Harrison County campus Friday with 30 graduates joining law enforcement agencies along the Gulf Coast.

Officers carried the American flag, and the Blue Line flag, which represents the graduates’ hard work. The new officers chanted in unison, while loved ones captured the unforgettable moments.

Stone County’s newest deputy, Rex Garrick, said this has been a dream of his for the last five years.

“My passion is protecting those who can’t protect themselves. I’m excited to graduate today. It’s been a long 11 weeks of blood, sweat, and tears. It’s been very good knowledge and training for what we need to do to enforce traffic and criminal law,” said Garrick.

Between the 11 weeks of classes, drills, and training, Garrick said the experience was intense.

“It was draining from the sun, but it was very good training as far as learning the basics, the fundamentals,” said Garrick.

Garrick said he grew up an only child, but that changed at the academy.

“I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I’ve now gained a personal family and it means a lot to me. I now have 30 brothers and sisters that I can rely on each and every time I need something,” said Garrick.

Waveland Police Lieutenant Chad Dorn said it’s always reassuring seeing so many graduates because it will fill the vacancies at law enforcement agencies along the coast.

“With everything that’s going on in the world today, and a lot of the way people look at law enforcement officers today, a lot of people don’t want to do it. There’s gaps everywhere along the coast, along Mississippi, in the whole county,” said Dorn.

Garrick said those gaps won’t discourage officers from urgently responding to each and every call they receive.

“We have a very positive outreach and we’re going to do our job to the best of our abilities,” said Garrick.

Graduates of the basic academy are eligible to receive 12 hours of college credit from MGCCC.

If you’d like to learn more about upcoming law enforcement classes, or how to apply to the academy, visit http://www.harrisoncountysheriff.com/department-divisions/training-academy/

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source: https://www.wlox.com/2022/03/25/new-law-enforcement-officers-graduate-training-academy/

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