A few weeks ago, the members of Criminal Justice Department at Hardin-Simmons University had the opportunity to participate in training sessions for cadets with the Abilene Police Department. I spoke with senior Colton Grimes, who is a Criminal Justice major from Abilene, about his experience.
He explained how, “Great it was to see new officers training and learning the right way to do their job.” Grimes went on to praise the sergeants that were in charge of the training and how knowledgeable they were with their in-depth explanations of the drill purposes after they had finished the session. “It showed a lot about the Abilene Police Department and how much they care about their cadets and the community.”
I then asked Grimes to share his favorite memory from the training. He loved seeing how dedicated the cadets were to their training and careers. “My favorite part of the training was seeing the cadets do everything they were supposed to do right because it showed us as a community and their superiors that they truly wanted to be the best that they could be.”
Grimes also shared with me how this training helped him with his future career goals. “This training helped me for my future career because I also want to be a police officer so seeing what they learn in their academy before going was very helpful.” He further explained how this training experience altered his view of the APD. “This training did change my outlook of the APD. I knew that they were a great police department but after the training it truly showed me how much these officers cared about their other officers and how they want the best for the community.”
Finally, I asked Grimes if he had any funny stories to share about his time at the cadet training. “We had some fun memories while doing the training because I had some of my friends come out there with me. It was funny to see some of them get out of cuffs and try to outrun some of the cadets.”
Overall, Grimes and his peers had an amazing experience at the APD cadet training session.
