(Beaver Dam) The deadline to sign up for the Beaver Dam Police Department’s annual Citizen’s Academy is this Wednesday, February 15th. This will be the 19th year for the academy which has given 222 local residents an inside look at real police training tactics.
It would have been the department’s 20th annual academy, but Lieutenant Jeremiah Johnson says COVID paused their program for one year. He says they still plan on doing something special for the occasion.
“We’re going to do a twentieth anniversary commemoration of the start of the citizen’s police academy at the police department even though its our nineteenth,” says Johnson. “When we do our graduation we might do something bigger. [I] talked to the chief about this, about possibly inviting back all the alumni’s to come in…maybe participate in the academy graduation, have a potluck dinner. A little bit of a bigger event.”
Johnson says they are also changing what night of the week classes are held.
“Rather than Monday night classes which have been our tradition…we have had some feedback from community members saying that ‘I got a lot of stuff going on Monday nights’…and if you think about it we have our city council meetings,” says Johnson. “So, we’re making an exception this year and we’re gong to do it on Thursday night. I was trying to avoid Wednesday nights cause people have catechism class and confirmation classes for church. Might be running into some basketball games and things like that [on] Thursday night but we’re trying something different this year just to accommodate someone who’s busy on Monday night.”
Johnson says the classes will begin at 6pm and go until 10pm. One Saturday class is planned from 8am to 3pm. The lieutenant notes that they cover a wide variety of topics between when the program begins on March 2nd and when it ends on June 1st.
“We cover one major aspect of what the police officers go through when they go to the actual state of Wisconsin Police Academy,” says Johnson. “So, everything from firearms…DAT, which is short for Defensive and Arrest Tactics…EVOC, which is short for Emergency Vehicle Operation Control…vehicle contacts…traffic procedures…accidents…we cover the Drug Task Force and how we do investigations there.”
Johnson says there is no charge to sign up, but applicants must be 18 years of age and preference is given to those who live, work, or own property in the city.
Application packets can be picked up at the Beaver Dam Police Department. For additional information contact Lieutenant Jeremiah Johnson at 920-887-4614 or 920-210-9378. You can email Johnson at [email protected] or get more information at the city of Beaver Dam’s website www.cityofbeaverdam.com.
