POTEAU, Okla. – The Police Officer Training Academy at Kiamichi Tech graduated its first class of cadets on Friday, Nov. 19. Kiamichi Tech administration, academy instructors, friends and families celebrated the graduation of eight cadets at the Poteau Campus. The graduates of the academy are:
- Tyler Bigelow, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Department
- Brenden Bray, Latimer County Sheriff’s Department
- Meredith Dunegan, Haskell County Sheriff’s Department
- Jaydon Pingleton, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Department
- Leah Polk, Keota Police Department
- Justin Robbins, Talihina Police Department
- Keith Savage, LeFlore County Sheriff’s Department
- Dennis Sugg, Panama Police Department
The commencement ceremony included congratulatory remarks from Shelley Free, Kiamichi Tech Superintendent, a special video address to the graduates from Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, and a keynote address from Colonel John R. Dallas.
“The program you have just completed is helping the state of Oklahoma be better prepared to protect the communities across our 77 counties,” said Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell. “To those who are graduating today, we can’t thank you enough. You are demonstrating the Oklahoma Standard, it makes us stronger communities and a stronger state.”
The academy garnered significant community, business and law enforcement support. The Community State Bank generously supported the academy from the early stages and Central National Bank supplied student scholarship funding.
“At the inception of this Academy, we knew we wanted to bring a quality training program to our region that would play a pivotal role in the workforce development of the law enforcement sector,” said Shelley Free, Kiamichi Tech Superintendent. “To our faculty, staff, community partners and academy instructors, thank you for the investment you have made in the cadets and in this program.”
The CLEET accredited academy is a four-and-a-half-month program covering all facets of law enforcement education from driver training and firearms safety to defensive tactics and criminal investigations.
“The first class of cadets dedicated endless hours to bettering themselves throughout their training and matched every intellectual hour with equal time in sweat equity,” said Shannen Hamby, Workforce and Economic Development Coordinator at Kiamichi Tech. “Tonight their hard work paid off. These graduates mean the world to me, and our communities are incredibly blessed to have these men and women protecting us.”
For more information about the Police Officer Training Academy and future classes, contact the Workforce and Economic Development Center at 918-647-4525 or email trainingpoteau@ktc.edu.
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