Who are Somerset County's new police officers?

JOHNSTOWN ― Michael Logsdon of Somerset Township, Chloe Shaulis of Davidsville and nine other cadets from the inaugural class of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College’s Municipal Police Academy graduated last Thursday evening, ready to take the final step to joining the region’s municipal police force.

“Tonight, I’m proud to say that the cadets appearing before you are fully trained as police officers in the state of Pennsylvania, and are scheduled to take their state certification test tomorrow (Sept. 8). Upon passing this test, each cadet will be eligible for hiring by any one of Pennsylvania’s 1,000+ police departments,” said Dennis Miller, police academy director.

In fact, 90% of the graduating class already have been offered employment with a local police department once they’ve passed the state certification, he added.

This group is also the 89th class of cadets to go through the police academy’s training program since it was started in the 1970s, Miller said. The program was transferred in late 2021 to Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, and it is one of seven municipal police academies in the western district of Pennsylvania.

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'Do the right thing, always'

The 11 cadets, who began their training last September, are from Blair, Cambria and Somerset counties. Each one has completed a total of 919 hours of training, including 498 hours of classroom instruction and 421 hours of hands-on police training. They have also completed an additional 124 hours of firearms training and are certified in the use of police batons, OC spray, standard field sobriety testing and the use of the X26P taser.

Steve Nunez, president of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, congratulated the graduates on their “grit and determination and sacrifice” to complete the 11-month program, which takes place on evenings and weekends.

“You may not remember ... but when I addressed you a year ago, I told you not to look too far ahead, but to conquer each day instead. And look, one year later, you are no longer cadets, but graduates, and soon-to-be police officers. Graduates, I’m very proud of you and your accomplishments.”

Keynote speaker Greg Neugebauer, Cambria County district attorney, told the graduates that they are “embarking on a career and a profession that is profoundly important.” As they begin their careers in law enforcement, he advised them to “do the right thing, always” and to make sure they ask for help when needed to cope with the situations they may encounter in their work.

“Indeed, there is no more noble calling than serving strangers every day, than running to danger at risk of your personal safety, for the betterment of others,” Neugebauer said.

“You will see people at their absolute worst, and you will see firsthand the pain and trauma that human beings can inflict on themselves and on one another. You will do all that, and then go home to your friends and families and have to act like it never happened, like you’ve never seen it, you never heard it or you never smelled it.

“Reach out to fellow officers. Reach out to mental health resources, talk with trusted friends and learn how to cope with these things. It is okay to ask for help, and a strong person seeks that help. Taking care of yourself allows you to better take care of others that you have chosen to serve – your families, friends and strangers alike. 

“Your job is to do the right thing and make it home safely,” Neugebauer said.

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Michael Logsdon

Logsdon received his certificate from Chief Adam Richards of the Ferndale Borough Police Department, for whom he will be working part-time when his police certification is official. The borough, a suburb of Johnstown, sponsored Logsdon at the academy by paying his tuition in exchange for a two-year employment contract.

“The committee, the council was all impressed by me, so that meant a lot. They sponsored me and that meant a lot also. It was a win-win situation,” he said.

Logsdon is also going to work full-time as a police officer at UPMC Somerset Hospital.

He said he previously worked in hospital security and was a school resource officer.

“I enjoyed that,” Logsdon said. “I wanted to pursue my career. I enjoyed working with people, I enjoyed helping people and that made a big difference in my life.”

Logsdon said he’s happy to have achieved his childhood goal of becoming a police officer.

“All the hard work and everything paid off,” he said.

Logsdon hopes to eventually continue his education for a bachelor’s degree, as the credits he’s earned at Penn Highlands will transfer to an undergraduate program in criminal justice.

Chloe Shaulis

Shaulis was presented with her certificate by Indian Lake Borough Police Chief Jerry Bellak.

“It’s been a very long year, but to finally get to this point, I have no words,” Shaulis said. “We’ve all reached this goal that we’ve been looking forward to all year.

“To finally reach this point of graduation, this night, it truly means a lot to all of us.”

Bellak said the police department is looking forward to having Shaulis join the force. After passing her certification exam, she will be sworn in as a full-time officer for the borough and then complete several more weeks of training with the department.

“We interviewed a lot of good candidates, and the hardest thing in the world is picking someone,” he said. “So we just had to make a decision, and we picked Officer Shaulis. I think she’s going to do real well out here. She’ll fit in real well. We’re looking forward to her coming on board.”

Bellak said that Indian Lake plans to sponsor another cadet in the next class as well.

“It’s nice to see that there are people who want to be law enforcement officers,” he said.

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Windber Borough Police sponsor cadet

Gavin Pacewicz, of Cresson, was presented his certificate by Officer Cory Fairman of the Windber Borough Police Department as the designee for Chief Andrew Frear. The department sponsored Pacewicz’s training at the police academy.

“This is invaluable, this academy,” said Fairman. He and Frear also serve as instructors at the police academy.

“He’s already learning what we expect and the type of community that Windber is, the type of residents that we serve. That time is just completely invaluable.  He did some ride-alongs with us, and we decided that it was a good fit for both, and we’re happy to have him.

“We have a lot of faith in him, and (after he passes the certification test) we are immediately putting him into the rotation after (4-6 weeks of) training. (We want) to make sure he’s comfortable, but we’re also comfortable with putting him out there because we owe it to the community we serve. We want him to have a successful and long career.”

Fairman said that Windber will likely sponsor other cadets in future classes as well.

“I look for us to (do so), as long as there’s a cadet that fits our standards and our expectations, absolutely. We’re always looking for good officers.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Penn HIghlands Police Academy celebrates first cadet graduation