The ceremony will also honor Clark County deputy Matthew Yates, who lost his life in the line of duty in July of 2022. He attended Clark State and graduated from its police academy.
“We felt the need to honor Deputy Matthew Yates and his family for the ultimate sacrifice Deputy Yates made for this community,” said Paul Weber, commander of the Clark State Police Academy.
Weber said as the college continues to send well-trained cadets into the workforce, he’s confident they’ll make excellent police officers as they complete 769 hours of training.
“The cadets spend five to seven months of intense training to start a long and rewarding career in police service for our communities,” he said. “We are proud of their accomplishments and wish them all success as they move forward.”
Graduate Annmeri Turner, who holds a bachelor’s in sociology with a criminology focus from Wittenberg University, secured a position with the Springfield Police Division following in the footsteps of her father, retired Lt. Lou Turner, and sister, officer Antonia Turner, who are also both graduates of Clark State’s police academy.
Turner said she’s blessed to follow behind her dad and sister and work for the SPD, and that it’s neat being the third person in her family to attend the college’s police academy.
“Some of my instructors at the academy worked with my dad at the police division, and just over two years ago, most of my instructors also taught my sister,” she said.
Turner’s favorite part of the academy is the relationship and connections she’s formed, and she encourages others to consider a career in law enforcement.
“I look for this job to put me in a good position to make a positive impact on the community in that I have grown up in,” she said. “I am thankful for all of the hard work everyone at the academy has done to help prepare us for our future careers. I also am grateful to the Springfield Police Division for providing me with this opportunity.”
A full list of graduates and the ceremony schedule is available at https://bit.ly/3GGLJnD.
The college’s police academy training facility features a subject control and physical fitness center, including a room that’s used for practical hands-on training for domestic violence, crime scene, DUI enforcement training and Milo System training, which is a weapons scenario-based system to train officers in the use of force.
The academy is designed to meet the requirements of the Ohio Police Officer Training Council (OPOTC) and is offered in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, the State of Ohio and OPOTC.
The college offers four peace officer training academies each year — four-month daytime academies and six-month evening academies that are each held twice a year. Each academy is limited to 25 cadets who must be 21 years of age at the time they take the state certification exam, have a valid Ohio’s driver’s licenses, a high school diploma or GED equivalent, and cannot have any felony or violent misdemeanor convictions.
The next evening academy session began on Jan. 3, but the next daytime academy session will begin in March from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Prospective cadets are required to complete the OPOTA application and other required forms as well as pass a physical assessment test, a physical, a drug screen and be fingerprinted for a BCI background check.
For more information or those interested in enrolling should call 937-328-6050 or complete an online inquiry form at www.clarkstate.edu/academics/basic-police-officer-inquiry-form/.
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