Clark State Community College will celebrate 50 years of the Basic Peace Officer Training Academy with an anniversary reception on August 1, 2019.
Clark State will recognize this year’s graduating class and honor alumni from previous years. The Basic Peace Officer Academy is certified and authorized by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC).
Clark State Police Academy alumnus Lee Graf was appointed chief of police of the Springfield Police Division on December 1, 2017. He was hired as a Springfield police officer in 1996. He also holds a BA in political science/prelaw from Wright State University.
“The Clark State Police Academy provided me with the knowledge and skills needed to start my career as a law enforcement officer in the state of Ohio,” said Graf. “My classes prepared me to take and pass the examinations and skills tests required to attain my peace officer certification.”
Graf said many of his instructors were current or retired law enforcement officers from the Springfield and Clark County area. “This was very inspirational, and it also helped me to immerse myself in the Springfield community and its culture,” he said.
As an instructor in the Clark State Police Academy for the past 16 years, Graf said he knows the quality of the training program at Clark State. “Police Academy Commander Paul Weber and his staff are committed to their academy students and will do everything they can to ensure the success of their charges.”
Clark State’s state-of-the-art police academy training facility features a subject control/physical fitness center. A new practical training room is used for practical (hands-on) training for domestic violence, crime scene, DUI enforcement training and Milo System training (weapons scenario-based system to train officers in the use of force).
The Clark State Police Academy entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Springfield Police Division (SPD) in the spring of 2018. It established a joint mission to better train future candidates of the Springfield Police Division, Criminal Justice students and current police officers. The cooperative effort aims to give the Springfield community the most current training for police officers and provide excellent training opportunities to students.
“Back in 1969, when Clark State was called Clark County Technical Institute, the college opened its first Police Academy class – that class was full of newly hired Springfield police officers seeking their certification as Ohio peace officers,” said Graf. “Fifty years later that tradition continues.”
The 50th Anniversary Reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, August 1 in the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center in downtown Springfield, Ohio. The graduation ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the adjacent Clark State Performing Arts Center.
All Clark State Police Academy graduates are encouraged to join in the 50th Anniversary celebration. There is no cost to attend.
Summer 2019 Police Academy Graduates
Beavercreek
Scarlett R. Biggs
Canal Winchester
Douglas E. Adams
Columbus
Jerome M. Peterson
Dayton
Latriece U. Knight
Dublin
Dylan J. Yankle
Fairborn
Kylie S. Jefferis
Benjamin E. Schaefer
Gahanna
Allison R. Craig
Huber Heights
Joseph A. Sanchez
Lebanon
David H. Mackintosh
London
Brian T. Bingman
Miamisburg
Benjamin L. Deitloff
South Charleston
Kelli A. Adams
Cody M. Willfong
South Vienna
Jeffrey B. Williamson
Springfield
Timothy J. Demers
Robert W. Dunsmore
Christopher L. Hall
Wyatt C. Payton
James D. McHenry
Joseph M. Moeller
Caleb C. Taylor
Francia Y. Wunderly
Tipp City
Nicholas A. Baker
Yellow Springs
Joshua D. Schlabach