Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington is pleased to announce 19 law enforcement officer recruits will graduate from the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Training Academy during a ceremony at the academy headquarters in Plain Dealing at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
The recruits from BPSTA Class 024 are from eight area law enforcement agencies – Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bossier City Police Department, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, Homer Police Department, Many Police Department, Minden Police Department, Northwestern State University Police Department, and Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The guest speaker will be Honorable Santi Parks, Bossier City Court judge. He was elected Nov. 3, 2020, and is the sixth person to serve as Bossier City Court judge. Judge Parks was sworn in on Jan. 15 by retiring Bossier City Court Judge Thomas Wilson, who served for the past 18 years on the bench.
The recruits of Class 024 successfully completed 16 weeks of training to become P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards and Training)-certified law enforcement officers. They learned a myriad of skills, including legal issues, weapons qualifications, physical fitness, non-lethal force, officer survival skills, and much more.
The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Training Academy, formerly known as the North Louisiana Criminal Justice Academy, held its first graduation in 2009. Over the past 12 years, instructors have trained some 500 recruits to become POST-certified law enforcement officers.
