Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes speaks at the graduation ceremony held July 31, 2015 for the Mercer County Police Academy’s 13th class of police officers.
Mercer County Police Academy graduate James Pica of Robbinsville will join the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office. Pictured with his father West Windsor Police Chief Joseph Pica Jr.
Mercer County Police Academy graduate Shari Johnson of Hamilton will join the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office. Pictured with her father Marvin Johnson following the graduation ceremony.
Mercer County dignitaries and law enforcement officials from around the County gathered on July 31, 2015, to celebrate the graduation of the 13th basic class of police officers from the Mercer Police Academy.
An audience of more than 350 family members, friends and members of a number of law enforcement agencies witnessed the class of 32 cadets receive graduation certificates to officially make them police officers.
The commencement was held inside Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College. Many cadets wore the uniforms of the respective law enforcement agency each will join; 11 cadets were Alternate Route trainees who attended the academy at their own expense and now can pursue employment as certified police officers.
The graduates endured 21 weeks of training at the academy in all aspects of law enforcement and will now serve in many different Police Departments within Mercer County and elsewhere. The cadets are the 13th police class of the Academy, which was created in October 2006 and provides a facility and resources to train law enforcement recruits in Mercer County. The academy is located on the grounds of MCCC.
Karl Johnston III, a Hamilton resident who is an Alternate Route trainee, was chosen by his fellow graduates as class speaker.
Also addressing the class were acting Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri, Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler, West Windsor Police Chief Joseph Pica Jr., president of the Mercer County Chiefs of Police Association; and MCCC President Jianping Wang. In attendance were Freeholders Ann Cannon, John Cimino and Pasquale “Pat” Colavita.
During training, the class studied in disciplines such as use of force, firearms, vehicle pursuit, hostage negotiation, advanced crime scene processing and domestic violence prevention among others. The Mercer Police Academy consists of two classrooms specially designed for the needs of law enforcement training and recruits use MCCC grounds, its library, and its gymnasium for training purposes. The campus includes a padded training room that is used for “defensive tactics” classes. A shooting range in Hopewell Township operated by the prosecutor’s office is also part of the academy.
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