UPDATED with photos: Dallas Sheriff’s Citizen Academy brings training, respect for tough job

by Kirk Moore

DALLAS — October 23 marked the graduation date for the very first class of the Dallas Sheriff’s Citizen Academy. This program began as the dream of Sheriff Lupe Valdez and her staff and was brought to fruition by fifteen average, civic-minded individuals from our community, including business men, housewives, ministers and math teachers.

The intent of the class was to create a volunteer body that would learn and understand the true nature of the Sheriff’s department and then find ways to share that knowledge with the public at large through various volunteer efforts. As a class we are as ethnically, culturally and geographically diverse as the county in which we live and work. Our class was comprised of men and women, blacks, whites, and Hispanics, we come from every region across the county, and we range in ages from our 20's to our 50’s. When asked why we volunteered, each of us provided an answer that involved some desire to give something back to the community and that, frankly, it sounded like fun. What we actually got out of it was something more valuable than any of us could have imagined.

This was a nine-class, seven-week course that covered the breadth of what the Sheriff’s Department provides our community. It was not a lecture series. This was a hands-on, full tilt, live it like the Deputies do, class participation activity. We shot firearms, donned bio-hazard suits, participated in full gear SWAT exercises, got locked in jail, sat in the Emergency Call Center, rode in squad cars, saw what happens when you get Tazered, worked with the K9 unit, and analyzed mock crime scenes. It wasn’t just fun. We had a blast.

We learned shocking, sobering, and compelling information all through this experience. Would you be surprised to learn there are approximately 70,000 outstanding warrants in Dallas County on any given day and that nearly a third of them are felony warrants? Would you believe that roughly 100,000 people are processed through the County jail each year? That’s an average of 350 people per day! There was something else that we learned, however, something that wasn’t specifically in the curriculum or voiced by our instructors.

What we learned quickly, and truly came to appreciate, was that real Sheriff’s work isn’t what you see on TV and that the men and women who perform these duties on a daily basis are not movie stars. Threaded through the excitement we all felt was an underlying seriousness to it all. For our sheriff officers and deputies, this is grinding serious work and it takes a special servant's heart to not be overwhelmed by it. These are real people, remarkable people who care deeply about one another and about serving our community honorably and reliably. They welcomed us like family and I truly think they looked forward to our four hours together every Tuesday night as much as we did. These are accomplished people. Every member of our regular group of instructors has over 20 years of experience in law enforcement and is a decorated Master Peace Officer. Every guest instructor was the commander, captain or division leader of his or her unit. These are committed people. Our guest Instructor on Emergency Medical Response, herself a PhD, hadn’t had a day off in over six months, but she still had time for us.

These people, the law enforcement professionals of our society, deserve our support. They do so much with far less than you’d imagine, they do it without complaint, and a surprising number of them do it for free. My classmates and I have embraced our mission, and in so doing, I offer you this letter. Please tell our story to the community. The Academy will offer two classes a year with 15 students in each class so that we can build a volunteer base worthy of the Sheriff’s office that sponsors it. Send the message that if you’ve reached a point in your life where you feel you have the time, means and capacity to give something back to your community, consider the Dallas Sheriff’s Citizen Academy. It’s a wonderful opportunity to serve the servers and to show the people that watch our backs everyday that every now and then we’ve got theirs.

This story was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community.

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