Local News

Graduation Day for Two New Deputies

(South Bend, IN) - Two new La Porte County police officers graduated from basic training Friday in South Bend.

 

The 228th Basic Training Session of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy came to a close with a graduation ceremony. Captain Derek Allen of our Sheriff’s Department was one of the speakers at the graduation.

 

Two of the 21 graduates will be patrolling La Porte County. They are Jared Buford and Margarita Velazquez. The officers completed 17-weeks of intense paramilitary based law enforcement training. According to the Sheriff's Office, "The academy consisted of training that included blocks of instruction in emergency vehicle operations, physical tactics, firearms, criminal and traffic law and many other areas of law enforcement."

 

Buford and Velazquez join four other recently hired deputies who already have law enforcement experience.

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