NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 19, 2008
Contact: Michele Nicholson
Public Information Officer
(850) 651-7420
CITIZENS ACADEMY
GRADUATES PRAISE PROGRAM
One of the
newest graduates of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Citizens Academy says
“it was truly an eye-opening experience about law enforcement”. Theresa
Goldsmith says her ride-along with 2007 Deputy of the Year Matt Abbott, which
included responding to domestic disputes, fires, security checks, juvenile
mischief calls, and a robbery, was one of the most exciting experiences of her
life.
Sheriff Charlie Morris
handed out certificates Tuesday night to Goldsmith and twenty-three other local
residents who graduated from the latest Citizens Academy Course. The Academy was
created to let people interested in law enforcement get familiar with the basic
structure of the Sheriff’s Office, its programs, and the services it provides –
from the Drug Task Force and Dive Team to child abuse investigations and traffic
enforcement.
Students who sign up
in advance and sign a waiver of liability form are able to do a ride-along with
deputies.
Another Citizens Academy Course will be scheduled in the fall of 2008. For more information on the classes, visit the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office website at www.sheriff-okaloosa.org. You can also contact Crime Prevention Specialists Ashley Bailey (651-7153) or Kathleen Larney (609-2005).
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