SACO — On a recent Wednesday evening, Deputy Police Chief Raynald Demers addressed students at the Citizen’s Police Academy at the end of the night’s class to recap the evening.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Awesome!” many of them replied, amidst clapping.
This sort of enthusiasm has been prevalent throughout the eight-week course, which teaches students a general overview of the police department. Demers said that every week he hears people say the class is “the best one so far.”
The academy is taught at the Saco Police Department, and the 25 students come from Saco as well as Biddeford, Dayton, Old Orchard Beach and Westbrook.
“It’s been great,” said Demers. “They’re a great group.”
All classes are taught by Saco police officers, who teach in their areas of expertise.
The students have really “tuned in” to the classes and have asked a lot of questions, said Demers, and some students have enjoyed the classes so much that they have asked for copies of the instructors presentations.
On March 21, the group, in the first segment of the class, learned about the Jump Start youth mentor program from School Resource Officers Jeff Cook and Michael Carrier. The two gave an overview of the program and answered questions, and Carrier shared a story about a participant in the program and read a letter the teen had written about how Jump Start changed her life for the better.
The class then broke up into two smaller groups, and each student got the chance to participate in firearms training and a unit about the mechanics of arrest and control.
During that segment, Corporal Daniel Beaulieu demonstrated handcuffing and control holds on Cook ”“ then students got to try their hand at handcuffing each other.In the firearms unit, students went downstairs to the department’s shooting range and were given a brief, general overview of guns from Corporal Paul Reynolds. Then, donning ear plugs and noise-canceling head phones, students paired up with a firearms instructor and fired 15 rounds on either a Glock 22 or a Glock 23 at a target 21 feet away.
After they came out of the shooting range, the students compared targets and spoke enthusiastically about the exercise. Police Chief Bradley Paul spoke to the students about when gun use is appropriate in police work and answered questions.
Other class topics have included bath salts and drug detection, harbor patrol, bike patrol, animal control, reporting child abuse and crime scene processing. The class has also taken a tour of the York County Jail.
Demers said in addition to giving people a better understanding of what police do, the class allows students to get to know the police officers and see them in a different light. Some students when they arrive to the police station for the first time seem a little intimidated by police, he said, but as the class progresses, they relax as they discover that they’re “real people” and have senses of humor, too.
The students were focused and attentive, but the mood was relaxed, and Beaulieu said the class clears up misconceptions people may have about police work and shows that real life is different than what is on television.
sHe said he enjoys teaching the class.
“It’s fun because it’s interactive,” he said.
Sherri Laux of Saco said her father was a police officer and she took the class to learn more about the police department. She said the course has given her a lot of insight on the department, and she has enjoyed it.
“Everything’s been very interesting,” she said.
Colleen Sargent of Saco is studying to get a degree online in homeland security at Everest University, is a volunteer Bible study teacher at Cumberland County Jail, and would like to pursue a job in criminal justice after she finishes school.
She said the class exceeded her expectations.
“I love it,” she said.
Sargent said the officers are very knowledgeable and have good people skills.
“People in this city don’t realize how fortunate we are to have a group of officers like this,” she said.
Walter E. Davis III of Saco recently graduated from Southern Maine Community College with a criminal justice degree and plans to work in corrections and law enforcement. He said he’s learned a lot in the class.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
At the end of the eight-week session, students are given the opportunity to ride along with a police officer for four hours.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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