Graduation from the Washington County Police Academy (Maryland)

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I made a big accomplishment and was among 14 who graduated from the Washington County, MD, Police Academy at Hagerstown Community College Kepler Theater. I became a Deputy Sheriff with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, ending a very long ordeal that started in December 2004 when I wanted to join the West Virginia State Police and subsequently fought to just become a cop somewhere, but had major hurdles because of lack of citizenship. This would not have been possible without God's intervention. He made it happen and my endless prayers all these years, including throughout this 25 weeks of training, were finally answered.

To illustrate even how hard I fought, I unexpectedly received the Chris Nicholson Award. This was a big surprise. With my wife looking on, I walked on stage to accept the award. There was no major crowd at graduation as we are in a worldwide pandemic with the Covid 19. The Chris Nicholson Award is presented to the cadet "who demonstrated courage, determination and the refusal to quit spirit, embodied by Officer Nicholson for class 02," it says on the plaque. Officer Nicholson was a Smithsburg police officer who was killed in the line of duty in December 2007 while responding to a domestic dispute just outside of that town limits (he was assisting the Washington County Sheriff's Office and was first on scene).

This academy was a little different as we graduated three weeks early (May 14 2020 instead of June 3rd 2020) as academy staff became concerned about the pandemic. Some police academies nationwide chose to shut down temporarily, including the Maryland State Police Academy. However, we are returning to class -- as police officers and deputies -- to complete some courses that, although not required by the Maryland Correctional and Police Training Commission, are required by our respective agencies (Sheriff's Office and Hagerstown Police). For example, we need to learn how to use the software used to issue traffic citations. We need to be certified to use radar, etc.

We will be at the academy for two weeks before starting our field training on June 1st for the next three-four months. The field training itself is also said to be a tough program that I need to get through before being on my own as a patrol deputy with the Sheriff's Office. Below are some pictures with some of my classmates and my wife.