Texas Border Business
For the 12th consecutive year, the Laredo College Regional Law Enforcement Academy students obtained 100% passing rate due to their skilled training, preparation and dedication to the program.
Director of the LC Regional Law Enforcement Academy Donald Hale said, “The academy has been at the forefront in law enforcement training and education for over 45 years. The pandemic brought unique challenges to training and education throughout the nation. Despite the challenges faced by our cadets and instructional team, this class managed to complete the training and pass the licensing exam.”
The 17 students that form part of Class A-20 obtained outstanding test grades and will be graduating to serve as basic peace officers. In order to get to this level of achievement, students have to apply and qualify for several prerequisites to ensure that the people of Texas are served by highly trained and ethical law enforcement.
LC President Ricardo J. Solis said, “The mission of the Laredo College Regional Law Enforcement Academy is to provide the highest quality law enforcement instruction to its cadets and to ensure that the standards and requirements of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement are met or exceeded.”
In order to be considered a candidate for the academy, applicants must be a high school graduate, must have completed an associate’s degree or 60 semester hours from an accredited university, be a U.S. citizen, must possess a valid Texas driver’s license, pass the fitness assessment and must be sponsored by a Texas Law Enforcement Agency Administrator. Students who qualify will have all equipment and supplies expense covered by their sponsor.
Class A-20 cadets were proud to be sponsored by Laredo Police Department, United Independent School District Police Department, Webb County Sheriff’s Office, Webb County Constable Precinct 1 and 2, Webb County Attorney’s Office and the Zapata Sheriff’s Office. There is a significant responsibility for students to have a good performance throughout the semester due to these sponsorships and the desire to serve the community.
During the semester, all 17 students were trained in stress management, emergency medical assistance, professional policy, criminal procedures, profiling, constitutions, penal, health and safety codes, civil process, communications, crisis intervention, multicultural and human relations, ethics, firearms, hazardous material, active shooter response, investigation, among other required topics.
Students were able to sustain an 80 average grade or higher as they maintain excellent physical fitness, attendance, dress code, conduct, discipline, professionalism and exceptional core values. This May, students completed 744 hours of training and were eligible to take the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement exam, where all 17 students passed with excellent grades.
Top students are also recognized at the end of the semester with the Academic Achievement and the Top Gun Award. Cadet Héctor A. Solis was honored to have receive these two accolades in his class.
The Academic Achievement award is issued to the student with the highest grade-point average over the course of the training and that is also graduating with an A in his academic transcript. The Academic Achievement Award was created in memory of two fallen heroes, Victor Serna and Pablo Albidrez, who were Laredo Police Department officers.
The Top Gun Award is given to the cadet with the highest pistol score during the firearms training where they demonstrate the proficiency and safe weapon handling.
The Cadet Mentor Award is another award granted at the end of the semester. The recipient for Class A-20 is Philip Quesada. He has been rewarded with this amazing accolade by his classmates for the outstanding guidance towards his peers. This award was created in memory of fallen Webb County Deputies Jose “Curly” Herrera and Reynaldo Guerra.
Hale said, “These cadets will soon become part of the essential front line of first responders. The Regional Law Enforcement Academy will continue to evolve in education and training as we move forward. Every program that strives for excellence must continuously look to improve in all facets of training.”
PDonald Hale thanked Dr. Ricardo Solis, LC Board of Trustees, LC Regional Law Enforcement Academy Advisory Board, the college legal counsel and students for their commitment, dedication and faith in him and in the program. He stated that he feels blessed to be in the position to impact law enforcement training and development in our community.
