Week two of the Citizens Police Academy included information sessions on internal affairs, recruiting, training and patrol.
Lt. Mark Hall, from Internal Affairs, is a 26-year veteran who worked in patrol, traffic and narcotics before moving to IA. Internal Affairs investigates complaints made by an officer about another officer and complaints made by a citizen against an officer. Additionally, they investigate incidents of weapons being shot, in-custody deaths and other situations as requested by Chief Jeff Bryan. IA also keeps and monitors records to determine if an officer is receiving repetitive complaints.
Every complaint is investigated but much of the time, they are made by citizens who are angry because an officer ticketed them. The complainant describes the incident as, “He gave me a ticket. That was rude,” or something similar. True story. There really are people who waste the time of our police department this way.
IA officers talk to every complainant. They gather statements and collect information on both the complainant’s and officer’s backgrounds. That information is passed on to the chief who decides whether to pursue it further. For complaints found to be solid, the officer could receive verbal direction, an oral or written reprimand, demotion, suspension or termination.
GPD’s service call to complaint ratio is incredibly low. Last year, there were 146,073 calls for service with 38 complaints.
Officers Reccus Jones and Steven May talked to the group about Recruiting and Training. The training seems both mentally and physically grueling, which obviously ensures that only truly serious candidates get through. Just the description of the physical training was enough to scare me!
In his role as recruiter, Reccus searches for 18-44-year-olds who are interested in becoming officers. Recruits must have 60 hours of college or an associate’s degree. The college requirement is waived for those with two years’ police or military experience.
Recruits must first pass the civil service exam, then a personal history is collected and a background investigation is performed. After several more steps, a conditional offer of employment may be made. They are then given psychological and medical exams and a drug test.
May described the 28-week academy that includes 1,100 hours of study (which is almost twice as many hours required by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement). There are weekly tests, dress and equipment inspections and physical training that was described as “brutal.” There is also an exam that covers everything taught during the 28 weeks, which also sounds brutal.
After the academy, officers go through field training where they ride with an experienced officer. It takes 18 months from application to being on the job alone.
Captain Gary Gregory, from Patrol, then provided a brief, informative GPD history.
He provided the following GPD history timeline:
1891 – Garland incorporated as city with 800 residents and a town marshal
1920s – There were two officers
1930s – Jail built
1951 – Modern department began with JW Ogle as chief
1954 – Motorcycles put into use
1970s – First female officer hired
1973 – SWAT team formed
1978 – Starting pay – $6 per hour
1984 – GPD first in Texas to install computers in patrol cars
1989 – First GPD death in the line of duty – Officer Gerald Walker
1992 – First school resource officers began work in schools
1993 – Citizens Police Academy began
1997 – Officer David Moore killed
1998 – Officer Ronnie Lerma killed
2001 – GPD celebrated 50th anniversary
2008 – Tasers put into use
2019 – Chief Jeff Bryan sworn in
Patrol officers work 12-hour shifts. There are 137 patrol officers, 19 are lieutenants, three are captains and one is assistant chief.
Stay tuned for recap of week three where the CPA group will be hearing about Women in Policing, Traffic and DWI Enforcement.