Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Citizens Academy - Class 1

As Russell B. Laine, the Chief of Police of Algonquin, Illinois and the President of the International Association of the Chiefs of Police has stated, "Without community support, law enforcement agencies cannot succeed." And as part of the effort to connect with the local community and build support, one of the services that various police departments in Alabama offer is the very informative and insightful Citizens Academy. A four to eight weeks long course, depending upon the resources of the police department offering the program, the Citizens Academy provides an overview of the various services offered by the police department and the various techniques they use to de-escalate a situation when the occasion calls for it.

Providing an opportunity for participants to channel one's inner Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, many of the participants in the Citizens Academy enjoy it so much that they sign up for multiple ones. And having thoroughly enjoyed the Tuscaloosa Police Department's Citizens Academy last year, I signed up for the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department's Citizens Academy this year, as well. Recognizing many of my former classmates from the TPD's Citizens Academy as I walked into the Sheriff's first class, yesterday evening.

As an example of some of the things one can expect to learn from the Citizens Academy, in our first class yesterday we learned from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit that homemade bomb labs often resemble homemade drug labs in appearance. And one has to look at the ingredients closely to tell the difference between the two types of laboratories they encounter. With some of the common ingredients used in homemade bomb labs being easily accessible at the local sporting good stores.

We also learned from the EOD unit that when they come upon a scene where there is a potentially explosive device present, they try to limit the radio signals being used at the scene and the cell phones that are used in the area, in the event those types of signals are used to trigger the device. And in order to set off the devices in a controlled situation, they will shoot powerful streams of water really hard and fast to cause the devices to explode. With the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's EOD unit being well funded, they will also accept official requests from the Sheriffs of other counties that don't have such a unit to help them when they encounter a potentially explosive device.

Curiously enough, one of the common devices The Tuscaloosa Police Department's parallel unit encounters, occurs when grandpa passes away and the family members are cleaning out his closet. Only to encounter an old Vietnam era hand grenade that he has kept as a souvenir over the years. Most of the time those hand grenades are no longer "live" devices, but it is not something one wants to gamble with in the event that they are still functional.

Members of the Citizens Academy last night were also presented with information about the tactical unit. A unit that focuses on high-risk warrants, armed/barricaded subjects, hostage situations, and executive protection. In fact, the unit boasted that one of the perks of the position was getting to protect the members of ESPN's GameDay when college football is in season. But, on a more serious note, the tactical unit does carry lethal weapons such as the Daniel Defense MK-18 and the Remington 700 .308. However, they also carry less lethal shotguns that release bean bags filled with bb pellets at 270 miles per hour. And a Taser 7. In the event a suspect is in a building and does not wish to get out, the unit has hot gas and cold gas. With hot gas being an intense pepper spray that is released in smoke form and will make anyone run out of a building upon its release.

While Alabama is proud of its space exploration technology and achievements via Redstone Arsenal, the Alabama territory was once considered the Wild West in the early days of America. And while mostly for good public relations, the days of the Wild West mounted police are far from over. As exemplified by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Posse, a volunteer civilian unit that rides on horseback to get into areas that aren't as easily accessible by a cumbersome patrol car. And is very useful when it comes to searching for missing kids and persons, especially in the woods. For anybody interested in volunteering for the Sheriff's Posse, equestrian skills are actually not a requirement, as they also have some foot volunteer in positions available.

Perhaps the most delightful segment of the Sheriff's Citizens Academy last night, the K-9 Unit made its presentation. And the pride in their canines that the officers feel was evident from the very beginning. With one K-9 being nominated for recognition in the Kennel Club for the number of captures she has obtained since being a young puppy.

With bloodhounds having a sense of smell thirty times greater than other canines, the K-9 Unit is very fond of the bloodhounds they use for man tracking. Given that male bloodhounds tend to be more easily distracted, and the female bloodhounds tend to track longer, the K-9 Unit prefers to use the lady bloodhounds such as K-9 Pax and K-9 Annie. The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's K-9 unit is about to add their 17th canine to their crew. And they are very excited about being able to use the K-9 to sniff for guns in schools. As a while before, the best a K-9 unit could hope for was to sniff for a gun that had been discharged with the hopes that the powder residue would leave a traceable scent, now there is a proprietary chemical being used in the manufacturing of all guns and the K-9s are ready to lead the way in helping keep schools safe.

For residents of Montgomery who may be interested in attending the Citizens Academy offered by the Montgomery City Police, it starts on Monday, September 09th. It runs for eight weeks, and attendance is required for at least six of the eight classes. One has to be 21 years of age or older to participate in it. It does require an application and the successful completion of a background check. With applications for the Citizens Academy being accessible here: Microsoft Word - MPD VIPS and CPA Application (montgomeryal.gov)

Luisa Reyes is an attorney in Tuscaloosa with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Judson, a master's degree in library science, and a law degree from Samford's Cumberland School of Law. She is also a piano instructor and vocalist.