POTSDAM – Four St. Lawrence County residents recently graduated from SUNY Potsdam's Law Enforcement Training Institute.They are Adrian Bove of Colton, Ashley Courson and Joshua Underwood of Massena, and Grant Lebeau of Ogdensburg.

The Law Enforcement Training Institute provides students with the unique opportunity to complete a rigorous pre-employment, state-approved police training as part of their undergraduate curriculum, alongside hired officers completing their own training.

Bove was among a cohort of 19 pre-employment police cadets and three hired peace officer cadets who started training in August at SUNY Potsdam. The cadets celebrated their completion of the program with a ceremony on Dec. 16, attended by more than 200 family members, friends and law enforcement officials from across the state.

The 15-week program allows students to successfully complete Phase 1 of the New York State Municipal Basic Police Training, which includes 56 of the full 60 components. Phase 2, which comprises the final four components, can only be completed by recently hired officers. The hired officers will now start their field training with their respective agencies.

The full list of graduates included:

Adrian Bove '26 of Colton, completing his pre-employment training as part of his extended college degree.

Ashley Courson of Massena, who is an officer with the Ogdensburg City Police Department.

Grant Lebeau of Ogdensburg, who is a police officer with the Massena Village Police Department. Lebeau won the Defensive Tactics Award.

Joshua Underwood of Massena, who is a police officer with the Massena Village Police Department.

Dawson David of Akwesasne, who is an officer with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department. He won the EVOC Award for his emergency vehicle driving abilities.

Ethan Bates '23 of North Bangor, completing his pre-employment training as part of his degree. Bates was presented with the Director's Award for going above and beyond with his information technology experience.

Alexander Burnett of Brushton, who is an officer with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department. Burnette was the police academy co-class president and won the Firearms Accuracy Award.

Isabella Barner '23 of Liverpool, completing her pre-employment training as part of her degree.

Dias Barnett '23 of Nyack, completing his pre-employment training as part of his degree.

Kienle Burns '24 of New Windsor, completing her pre-employment training as part of her degree.

Katie Fisher of Malone, who is an officer with the Saranac Lake Village Police Department.

Yeremi Gomez '24 of Bronx, completing his pre-employment training as part of his degree. Gomez was the police academy class vice president and won the Reality Based Training Award.

Aaliyah Holloway '24 of New York, completing her pre-employment training as part of her degree.

Emma Hyde '24 of Oswego, completing her pre-employment training as part of her degree.

Islan Storm Miller '24 of Schenectady, completing her pre-employment training as part of her college degree.

Kiernan Morgan '22 of Lynbrook, completing his pre-employment training as part of his degree. Morgan won the Highest Academic Award.

Ashley Pittman of Saranac Lake, who is a police officer with the Saranac Lake Village Police Department. Pittman won the Crisis Intervention/De-Escalation Award.

Jason Sanchez '23 of Howard Beach, completing his pre-employment training as part of his degree. Sanchez, who is also an EMT, was presented with the Director's Award for assisting other cadets with minor issues endured during hands-on training.

Conor Strack '23 of Dickinson, completing his pre-employment training as part of his degree. Strack was the police academy co-class president and won both the Academic Internship Award and the Physical Training Award.

Three officers received their special patrolman peace officer certifications through the institute this semester, including:

Darren Basford of Potsdam, who is a special patrolman with the Potsdam Police Department and the school resource officer with the Potsdam Central School District.

Jimmy Meagher of Malone, who is a special patrolman with the Franklin County District Attorney's Office.

Mark Orzech of Malone, who is a special patrolman with the Malone Village Police Department and a school resource officer with the Malone Central School District.

As a New York State-accredited police academy, SUNY Potsdam's Law Enforcement Training Institute offers instruction in defensive tactics, emergency medical services, emergency vehicle operation, applying field sobriety tests, processing crime scenes and a plethora of other training topics. To learn more, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/appliedlearning/lawenforcement.

SUNY Potsdam offers one of the very few police academies in New York State that opts to prioritize seating to college students first, then fill any leftover seating with hired officers.

"This was something I wanted to do here, and the College's Lougheed Center for Applied Learning fully supports it. With my 32 years of policing and training, I firmly believe policing needs better trained officers. When cadets graduate here, they have a four-year degree and a police academy under their belts. They are better trained, better educated, and more mature. It simply makes for better decision-making skills, which in turn makes for better community policing. We need more of that, and we all know it," said Police Academy Director Sonny Duquette, a retired St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office detective sergeant.

The SUNY Potsdam Law Enforcement Training Institute is cosponsored by the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the Lougheed Center for Applied