Their diligence protects the county
Pepper spray to the face, hard physical training, self-defense drills and vehicle pursuit tactics were all things that basic law enforcement training graduates could overcome.
But it was impossible for the class to get their sweatshirts right, graduate Savannah Banks said.
“Everyone has to be uniformed,” she said. “So it was either everyone wore [sweatshirts] or nobody did. But if you have one person who doesn’t even have it with them, then no one can.”
As spring weather shifted between chilly and hot, this “silly” problem became one of the Session 126 class’s “biggest issues,” Banks said.
Even so, Banks, a Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) deputy, graduated the Georgia Public Safety Training Center’s (GPSTC) Basic Law Enforcement training class along with GCSO Deputy Dylan Weiss-Hirt. The two Gilmer deputies got their badges Friday, April 24.
Banks had her badge pinned on by the GCSO Deputy Director of 911, Sergeant Donavie Laney.
Weiss-Hirt had his badge pinned on by his mother.
Banks’s graduation included two major achievements. The first was that she graduated as the class president.
In her class, there were 33 other graduates out of an original class of about 40.
For her achievement, she was given the class flag and made a speech to its graduating members.
Over the 16 weeks before graduation, Banks and Weiss-Hirt went through 809 training hours.
These included physical training as well as training on laws, criminal procedure, how to handcuff someone safely, and how to use firearms.
“Even though I had people who doubted me, I also had a lot of support from my friends and family along with my family with the Sheriff’s Office,” she said. “Without their love and support, I wouldn’t be where I am.”
The second is that she is the first dispatcher the GCSO has sent to the training course for about 16 years.
“Without all that training, I would have come in here and not had any idea of what I was getting myself into,” Banks said.
She did the course because she hopes to eventually become an investigator. This path has been a dream Banks has held since high school.
“It fascinates me,” she said. “I like to know the why, and I like to know the details.”
After finishing the course, she’s one step closer.
Weiss-Hirt is now assigned to working at the Gilmer County Adult Detention Center.
“We are incredibly proud of the hard work, discipline, and commitment both of these individuals have shown. Completing GPSTC is no easy task, and they have represented Gilmer County with professionalism every step of the way,” the GCSO wrote of the two.