Students, police come together for law enforcement academy

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GREENFIELD — Olivia Eppert has her eyes on Washington, D.C.

Once she graduates high school, she’ll head to college and then the state’s law enforcement academy. And after she’s spent a few years as a police officer somewhere, she’s going to apply for a job with the FBI.

That’s her plan, the 16-year-old said matter-of-factly this week, sitting inside the gymnasium at Greenfield-Central High School, glancing around at a crowd of her peers and officers she one day hopes to be.

Eppert and about 30 other teens from across Hancock County participated in a teen academy hosted by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and Greenfield Police Department. Across town, the Cumberland Police Department also hosted its first week-long academy, where a dozen more local youth got a chance to interaction with the Cumberland police and members of Warren Township School Police Department.

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The week-long program aims to give young people insight on the day-to-day work officers do while fostering positive relationships between police and their communities’ youngest members, organizers said.

Both programs were open to teens ages 13 to 17, and organizers encouraged those interested in pursuing careers in law enforcement to apply.

The week’s lessons covered an array of law enforcement topics, including traffic stops, evidence collection and crime scene investigations, said Sgt. Bridget Foy, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Deputy who organized the program.

The students tour the Hancock County Jail and local police departments, see special presentations from the K-9, SWAT and drug-enforcement teams and participate in simulated firearms and Taser training.

Mornings start with physical training — push-ups, sit-ups and marching — and end with students and officers splitting into teams for games, like kickball, wiffle ball and team-building exercises.

In between, teens get an in-depth look at police work with lessons in an array of law enforcement areas, from road patrol tactics to detective work.

The week is full of laughter; but when it’s time to get serious, everyone buckles down.

On Wednesday, the officers split students into two groups as they prepared to complete firearms training.

The same officers who train their peers how to properly handle weapons took a dozen students outside to practice shooting with a model handgun and rifle that only shot blank rounds.

The second group stayed inside their classroom at Greenfield-Central High School and learned the proper procedure for how to search a home or building for a suspect.

The inside lesson was regularly interrupted by fits of giggles from both the officers and the kids, as they used squirt guns to simulate weapons — putting a light-hearted spin on what can be a scary process for officers out on the streets.

But outside, everyone was straight-faced.

Handling a real firearm was a matter that needed to be taken with the utmost seriousness, the officers repeatedly told the students.

Some of the topics might be tough, some of the physical training they complete might be grueling, but Foy said she only received positive feedback from parents and students following last year’s inaugural academy. Four students enjoyed the program so much they asked to participate again this year, she said.

Eppert, a first-time participant, said it was her ambition to work for the FBI led her to sign up for the joint county-city program. She was hoping the academy would give her a better understanding of what training she might be expected to complete, the skills she’ll need to master down the road, and she was thankful for the chance to learn more about law enforcement.

Her dedication to that goal was clear to the officers who were serving as instructors this week.

“Look at her,” Foy said to her colleagues as they watched Eppert complete an exercise. “She’s on it.”