MPD Graduates 14 New Police Officers
After weeks of training, these 10 men and 4 women are now members of the Montgomery Police force.
July has been a difficult month for the law enforcement community after the killing of 5 officers in Dallas, and the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille at the hands of officers.
A few reasons Ernestina McGriff says she definitely feels some apprehension about her new job.
“In the apprehension I have a lot of confidence. I believe that I’ve been taught what I need in order to be able to handle an encounter such as that, but I also believe if we were ever in a situation like that I believe in MPD,” said McGriff.
Instructors with the department say De-escalation is still a top priority and the way they teach is definitely changing in light of recent events.
“Looking at different videos and where officers are involved in shootings, looking at facebook they have seen in different shootings, and ask to talk and say was there really anything different that could have been done by that point. Not to judge the officers my any means because we weren’t there. But the important thing is to talk and say what would you have done in this situation,” said instructor Cpl. Jacoby Thagard.
Those real life scenarios happened during the final weeks of training for these officers.
So what’s the solution, especially here in the Montgomery community?
“Turn it into more of a partnership and not, I’m in your district and I’m the authoritative figure in your district. I’m your partner to. So to partner with the community is how we bridge the gap,” said McGriff.
