Twelve New Members Enter Law Enforcement Careers
The Angelina College Law Enforcement Academy on Thursday recognized 12 new graduates during a ceremony held at Temple Theater on the AC campus.
Class 114 of the academy also recognized valedictorian Clayton Lozano, Director’s Award recipient Cliff Prestwood, Best Drive Award recipient Ivan Flores-Moore and Top Gun Award recipient Garrett Thomas.
The ceremony’s keynote speaker was Lufkin Police Department Chief David Thomas, who spoke of the “art” of becoming a police officer.
“It’s not just about the facts, or someone having to be kind of a stoic person,” Thomas said of the profession. “There’s got to be more of an art to it. The art of empathy over sympathy. The art of talking someone into handcuffs instead of a fight. The art of applying the law instead of just enforcing words on paper. And the art of telling a parent that their world just changed for the worst.”
Valedictorian Lozano lauded his classmates’ overall determination throughout the rigorous four months of training.
“We were told on first day of class that the academy was not like any school or anything we’d ever been through before,” Lozano said. “We had to make a decision that it would basically take a S.W.A.T. team to pull us out of there, because nobody was going to quit.
“The 12 men [graduating] here tonight took that mentality and ran with it. Even now, it would take a S.W.A.T. team to pull us away.”
Graduating cadets, along with their listed home towns, were as follows:
Dawson Barnett (Denton, TX), Ivan Flores-Moore (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico), Hernan Gonzalez (Crockett, TX), Bailey Ham (Nacogdoches, TX), Preston Johnson (Houston, TX), Ethan Kaye (Dallas, TX), Clayton Lozano (Lubbock, TX), Jeremiah Moss (Crockett, TX), Cliff Prestwood (Pasadena, TX), Sheldon Silence (Humble, TX), Garrett Thomas (Lufkin, TX) and Tristan Wagner (Hemphill, TX).
Angelina College’s Law Enforcement Academy staff includes AC Police Chief Doug Conn, Training Manager Lt. Jack Stephenson, Training Manager Sgt. Ashley Jowell and Administrative Assistant Kim Capps.
For further information regarding the academy, contact policeacademy@angelina.edu.
For other information, contact Krista Brown at kbrown@angelina.edu.
