Hundreds of family and friends attended College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Law Enforcement Program graduation on Tuesday, June 20. The ceremony, held at the Nampa Civic Center, honored 31 students ranging in age from 18 to 48.
The event included highlight videos — showing law enforcement students as they completed weapons training, tactical driving exercises and hand-to-hand fighting. The graduates and crowd shared a laugh while they watched some of the blooper reels in the video. After the ceremony, a number of students gathered with family and friends as they celebrated in the lobby and posed for group photos.
“It was awesome, it’s a great opportunity for anyone who’s really interested in law enforcement, you have a lot of fun and grow with everyone — I love my brothers and sisters throughout this program,” said Almedina Sakanovic.
LeRoy Forsman, CWI Law Enforcement Program Chair, spoke during the ceremony and the keynote speaker was Sgt. Jamie Burns of the Nampa Police Department.
Each graduate received a CWI Law Enforcement Challenge Coin and the top performing students in academics, shooting and driving training received a plaque recognizing their stellar performance in those disciplines. At the end of the program, Forsman administered the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics as the students pledged to follow the strict guidelines outlined for officer’s behavior and conduct.
The CWI Law Enforcement Program is a comprehensive, hands-on training program accredited by Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Students in the program complete all POST requirements. “This ultimately allows students to become very competitive regarding employment in the law enforcement profession,” communicates Brett Reid, Law Enforcement Program Coordinator. Eighteen graduates from this year’s class have already secured jobs or are in the final stages of the hiring process with various agencies.