19 graduate from Hancock College's law enforcement academy in Lompoc
Jun. 11—Nineteen men and women graduated from Allan Hancock College's Basic Law Enforcement Academy on Wednesday, with each recruit going on to serve in positions locally across the Central Coast.
Class 22-123 graduated from Hancock's Public Safety Training Complex in Lompoc, with family and friends present for the ceremony, after completing hundreds of hours of training required to graduate from the academy, according to officials.
Each recruit was required to complete six months of training that included more than 830 hours of California Peace Officer Standards and Training instruction in community policing, search and seizure, firearms ethics, investigation procedures and patrol techniques, arrest procedures, physical training, CPR and first aid, emergency vehicle operation and other skills.
In addition the academy included marksmanship training in which recruits fired thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to the college.
Each trainee was required to pass multiple written exams and run more than 216 miles as part of their physical training.
All 19 graduates will go to serve with various police agencies, including in Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Lompoc, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria.
The graduates included Nicholas Clark, Alexis Leyva and Antoun Mantoura with the Santa Maria Police Department; Daniel Molina, Isabella Martinez and David Fonseca of the Lompoc Police Department; and Mark Burdick with the Santa Barbara Police Department
Additionally, recruits included Raul Chavez with the Arroyo Grande Police Department; Jason Goossens with the SLO County Sheriff's Office; Jake Keller with the SLO Police Department; Destiny Cuellar and Timothy Perkins with the Atascadero Police Department; and Michael Ortiz, Jeffrey Snyder and Michael Ratekin with the Paso Robles Police Department.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office hired deputies Dylan Darga, Kayla Saint-Fleur, Matthew Shotwell and Garret Weinreich, and Deputy Heather van Hemert, who previously worked with the Santa Paula Police Department, where she was a K-9 handler who was featured on an episode of the A&E TV show, "America's Top Dog."
