Members of the 2023 Gilmer Sheriff’s Office Citizens’ Law Enforcement Academy (CLEA) class completed the program last week with a better understanding of how the local law enforcement agency operates and stories to tell about the time they spent shadowing the officers.
“When we started this program in 2011, the sheriff said it has to be transparent. Unless it’s something that is privileged or restricted, it’s something (you’ve had) access to,” said Lt. George Ellis, CLEA program manager, to the graduating class members during a ceremony at the courthouse jury assembly room last Tuesday.
“You can’t get much more transparent than driving around in a police car with a deputy for 12 hours,” Ellis said.
Ride-alongs, in which class members accompanied deputies on their shifts, tend to be one of the more popular parts of the course. About the ride-alongs, Ellis said “some of (the class members) came back to me and said, ‘It was boring.’ I said, ‘Good!’”
“We did get a lot of really good feedback about the ride-alongs,” he added.
Ellis said the 14-week class started out slow with topics like state certification, but picked up steam with guided visits to the county jail and 911 dispatch center, as well as presentations from the sheriff’s office’s uniformed patrol, criminal investigation, court services and K-9 units.
“They got to see that all the stuff you see on ‘CSI’ and all that isn’t real. We don’t have any nuclear powered DNA machines that you can plug in and flip a switch and solve every murder in the history of murders,” Ellis said. “We had a demonstration last week, where they got to see what happens when a bad guy doesn’t cooperate with the dogs. We actually had some people say they wanted to volunteer to get tased. We said ‘No! That ain’t gonna happen!’”
When asked by Sheriff Stacy Nicholson if their ride-alongs included anything exciting, the unpredictability of the law enforcement profession was highlighted by class members who answered.
One said they ran over a possum that day. Another said the first call the deputy responded to was someone who’d been shot.
“I was thoroughly impressed with the whole process of the deputy being there, backing up the scene and keeping control,” said Larry Kirchmayer about that memorable experience from the ride-along.
Ellis said CLEA class members are often surprised by the professionalism and experience of the sheriff’s office’s various departments.
“What is the stereotypical (image of a) southern sheriff or deputy?” he asked the class, with the answer being Buford T. Justice, the outlandish sheriff from the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies.
“Any of you who’ve met our boss knows that’s not the case,” Ellis said.
Class member Steve Hanline said he appreciated “the vast experience within the sheriff’s office, the number of years the deputies have served, their dedication and professionalism.”
“Everything about it has been open and transparent. They’re everyday normal people with the heart of a servant,” Hanline said.
Class member Ann McClannahan was impressed by “the amount of training they have and how they can cross-train for other jobs in the department and, more than anything, the professionalism.”
“I’m proud of my agency, and I have all the confidence in the world (in them),” said Nicholson.
“People ask me all the time how can you even go to sleep at night knowing what all’s going on? Because I know it’s being handled, and I know that, if they need help, I’ll get a call. I never worry about it not being handled.”
Ellis said the sheriff’s office plans to offer the CLEA program again next year, and they are already accepting applications.
“You’re part of our extended sheriff’s office family now. You’re more than welcome to come back,” he told the ’23 class grads.
Anyone interested in applying for the 2024 Citizens’ Law Enforcement Academy can contact Lt. George Ellis at 706-515-2654 or gellis@gilmersheriff.com. The application is also available on the sheriff’s office website (gilmersheriff.com) under the Resources tab.