TEEX Graduates Its 175th Class from the Central Texas Police Academy
The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) has been preparing Texans for law enforcement careers for 71 years and reached a milestone by graduating its 175th class of peace officers at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center on the campus of Texas A&M University. Since its inception in 1953, more than 3,500 individuals have graduated from the program.
The 24 graduates of the 175th class are from area cities and counties, including Brazos, Burleson, Madison and Waller counties; the cities of College Station, Huntsville, Madisonville and Manor; and two cadets from the Texas A&M University Police Department. Dr. Keith Jemison, Associate Vice Chancellor of Law Enforcement and Security at The Texas A&M University System, was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony.
“We are pleased to have reached this milestone and remain committed to training and graduating the most qualified law enforcement officers in the state of Texas,” said Scott McCollum, interim director of the TEEX Law Enforcement and Protective Services Division and a 1985 graduate of the academy. “In addition to providing the graduates with the training they need to succeed, we emphasize the importance of devotion to community and selfless service to others.”
Participants in the Basic Peace Officers Course at TEEX’s Central Texas Police Academy engage in rigorous hands-on training to learn about the various aspects of police work and receive classroom training to prepare them for the state licensing examination.
The 20-week course, which began on January 17 and is taught three times annually at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus, covers the Texas Penal Code, arrest procedures, criminal and crime scene investigations, firearms training, patrol skills, traffic enforcement and investigations, field sobriety testing, self-defense tactics, physical fitness training and report writing. Upon successful completion of the course, the graduates participate in field training at their respective law enforcement agency.
“Attending the TEEX Police Academy gave me the opportunity to develop necessary skills to go into my agency with a solid knowledge base and succeed in field training and my subsequent career, said Officer Meredith Paul of the Recruiting and Training Division at the College Station Police Department and a 2019 graduate of the academy. “As a field training officer, I continued to watch countless recruits rely on that training from TEEX and flourish into great peace officers.”
About the Central Texas Police Academy
The Central Texas Police Academy (CTPA), the oldest statewide law enforcement extension training program, was established in 1953 as the TEEX Texas Municipal Police School. The academy offers four different routes to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Basic Peace Officer license as well as a number of other law enforcement training courses.
About TEEX
The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) is an internationally recognized leader in emergency response training, workforce training and technical assistance. In 2023, TEEX trained more than 212,000 participants from every U.S. state and territory and 118 countries worldwide. Major TEEX programs include Fire and Emergency Services, Infrastructure and Safety, Law Enforcement and Protective Services, and Business and Cyber Solutions. Additionally, through its National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center (NERRTC), TEEX provides federally funded homeland security training and technical assistance for communities across the nation. The agency also sponsors the Texas A&M Public Works Response Team (TX-PWRT) and the Texas A&M Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) Urban Search and Rescue Team.
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Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
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