SNOWFLAKE – The Thin Blue Line in northeast Arizona is a little stronger as 13 new peace officers were sworn in on June 10th who completed the intensive 20-week Arizona Peace Officer Standards for Training (AzPOST) at the Northeastern Arizona Law of the Northland Pioneer College graduated from Law Enforcement Training Academy (NALETA).
Navajo County Superior Court Justice Michala M. Ruechel took the oath on the new deputies of the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office: Darnell Amos, Tyson Binnie, Chance Flores, Tyler Schaefer, Benjamin Spurlock, Kolten Van Winkle; Pinetop-Lakeside Police Department officers: Collin Dalley and Gabriel Gauna; St. John’s Police Officer Adam Castillo; Kyle Peterson in the Apache County Sheriff’s Office; Andrew Esparza, Greenlee Deputy Sheriff’s Office; and Hopi Resource Enforcement Services Officer Lomayestewa.
NALETA is a true partnership with regional law enforcement agencies that assign sworn officers as instructors to the college for free, said Jon Wisner, director of public safety at NPC.
The recruits through the academy led Class Supervisor Sgt. Brett Johnson (NCSO) and Recruit Training Officers (RTO), Officer Bernard Huser (SLPD) and Alicia Marquez (WPD). RTO Marquez presented Officer Gauna with the Physical Fitness Award, Deputy Amos the Defensive Driving Award, the Top Firearms, the Academic Award and the ‘David Kellywood Top Recruit Award’ to Deputy Van Winkle.
Present to witness the ceremony were law enforcement officials from the sponsoring agencies and the small family of the recruits.
If you are interested in becoming a certified peace officer in Arizona, “contact the agency you want to work for to begin the process, which can take four to eight weeks,” said Wisner. “Through on-site recruitment and training, the agencies know that the person already has connections to the community through family and housing. It has also been shown that this improves the success rate of the cadets. “
The NALETA 2021-2 course is expected to start on July 19. Centrally located in the Northeast Arizona Training Center (Jake Flake Emergency Services Institute) in Taylor, NALETA is a fully accredited “closed” AzPOST academy. This means that students can only enroll under the auspices of a law enforcement agency.
A prospective recruit must be at least 21 years old at the end of the academy; and be able to pass a variety of test procedures that include physical agility, firearms and written tests, background exams, and polygraphs.
“To be successful, a recruit must be dedicated and willing to endure the intense academic and physical training required,” said Wisner.
For more information on AzPOST admission requirements, visit post.az.gov online. Then click on the “Certification Process” link in the top navigation bar or contact the police or the sheriff’s office where you would like to begin your law enforcement career. Tribal officers, game and fish rangers, and agricultural inspectors are also sworn peace officers.
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