TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Before they can earn their badges, law enforcement recruits spend 24 weeks at the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center, southeast of Tucson.
Behind the Badge, the series:
Behind the Badge: TPD Recruits take on intense training
Behind the Badge: Recruits' training stresses teamwork, accountability
Behind the Badge: How TPD recruits train for suspects violently resisting arrest
Protect and Swerve: TPD recruits get tested behind the wheel
The academy includes recruits for the Tucson Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, including Arizona Game and Fish.
KGUN 9 received access to follow four recruits during their training. After two weeks in the classroom, recruits began their third week with intense physical training.
Recruits are given orders for a strenuous workout, with frequent yelling from their supervisors, questioning recruits’ effort and demanding they get into the right mindset.
Class officer and TPD officer Jason Kerns went through the academy 16 years ago. He says the academy is designed to be intense and high-stress for a good reason.
“It taught me to be a stronger individual,” he said. “You really understand where you can push yourself and be stronger.
“You wanna get them down, you wanna break any mindsets, any deficiencies they may think they have. You wanna break them down so that we can build them up. In terms of being able to make good decisions out in the street. Being able to think rationally.”
Kerns says that also leads to a more disciplined approach in the field when there are stressful situations.
“If you’re on a call and there’s a family yelling at you, you gotta be, you gotta have the right mindset to be able to make a good decision, and stay calm and control the scene,” he said.
“So it’s basically getting them to learn the process of slowing things down. Making better decisions. Making good decisions, in the midst of a ton of a stress.”
Joaquin Martinez responded to non-emergency calls as a Community Service Officer with TPD. Now he’s feeling more urgency as he tries to earn his badge.
“You feel it through your legs [during training],” he said. “You feel it in your whole body. But it’s the process. You gotta enjoy the process and you gotta go through the process in order to be a better person later on.”
“My former boss retired from [Davis-Monthan] Air Force base here,” said one recruit. “And he would always speak about Tucson, very highly about it. So I figured, I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t really wanna stay home. I wanna try something out. I wanna go out on a limb.’ And I was like, ‘You know what? I’ll apply for Tucson PD.’”
Alexandra Corrales’ motivation is her family.
“Lots of police. Lots of fire. Lots of military,” she said of them. “So I definitely know that public service is something that I have a passion for and my family has a passion for. And I just wanted to be here to help somebody out on their worst day.”
Arlene Olguin wants to be motivation for those who come next.
“I would like to show future female recruits that it is very much possible for them to pursue this career,” she said. “Especially in a male-dominated field, that they are more than capable of doing what anybody else can do.”
The next 21 weeks will test what these recruits are capable of.
“You’re gonna have people yelling,” said Olguin. “You’re gonna have people in your face. Just gotta keep pushing through each hour.”
“Get through it. Do what you need to do. And never quit,” Corrales added.
KGUN 9 will follow these recruits through their training as part of the Behind the Badge series.
——-
Ryan Fish is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9 and comes to the Sonoran Desert from California’s Central Coast after working as a reporter, sports anchor and weather forecaster in Santa Barbara. Ryan grew up in the Chicago suburbs, frequently visiting family in Tucson. Share your story ideas and important issues with Ryan by emailing ryan.fish@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
