by Andrew Reichmeier
Staff Reporter
areichme@jccc.edu
The Johnson County Regional Police Academy graduated its 115th class Thursday. The ceremony, held in the college’s Yardley Hall, was the culmination of a 16-week process for 11 recruits.
Ken Sissom, director of the Johnson County Regional Police Academy, was the M.C. for the event.
“I thought it went really well,” Sissom said. “Yardley Hall is such a wonderful venue.”
The first speaker Sissom introduced was Paul Bender, one of the 11 members of Class 115, who delivered a speech to his classmates.
“It was great. I’m so happy and so honored to have so many people here to support us. That’s a really good feeling in this line of work,” Bender said of the ceremony.
In addition to being class speaker, Bender also won the Rick Staples Marksmanship Award.
“It’s important for me to bring the award back to my department. I’m pretty proud about that,” Bender said.
The 11 graduates from Class 115 are now officers at their respective departments, including Lenexa, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Johnson County Park Police.
The guest speaker at the ceremony was U.S. Marshal Ronald Miller. Throughout the presentation, Miller highlighted recent riots that have taken place throughout the United States.
“It’s not a great time to be in law enforcement,” Miller said. “What are you going to do with the time you have to make this profession better?”
Photography by Lance Martin, Photo Editor