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Toccoa police officers have completed a pair of training courses recently.
Toccoa police officers have completed a pair of training courses recently.
Four Toccoa officers graduated from a field sobriety testing course.
Police chief Jimmy Mize said officers Ryan Brown, Tim Kelley, Josh Franks, and Jake Palmer graduated from the Field Sobriety Testing Course held as the police department’s James A. Neal Training Center on Alewine Drive.
The four were among 21 graduates from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies from across north Georgia, Mize said.
It took place from April 18-20.
“The 24-hour course teaches officers the signs of impaired driving and how to complete a battery of tests known as Standardized Field Sobriety,” Mize said.
Developed. by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, testing sets a standard that’s used by almost all law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
In 2019, 353 DUI related fatalities occurred in Georgia, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
“This training assists our local law enforcement in preventing someone’s family member from becoming another life lost in such a preventable manner,” Mize said.
“We would like to thank Lt. Canup and Sgt. Hall of the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office for their time and instruction on such an important topic,” Mize said.
“Also, thanks to Dr. (Butch) Newkirk and the University of North Georgia Public Safety Academy who sponsor our advanced courses and allows us to bring excellent training closer to home,” Mize said.
Three Toccoa police officers last week received training designed to improve their mental, social, physical, and spiritual health.
“Law enforcement officers often deal with the worst situations the world has to offer and have little to no release mechanism for that stress,” said Mize, who was was one of the three who attended the course that was held at the James A. Neal Training Center on Alewine Drive.
The Toccoa police department’s Lt. David Sims and training director Justin Ferguson also attended the three-day course (April 25-27) along with other law enfrocement personnel from around the state, Mize said.
The Georgia Resiliency Instructor Course was provided by instructors from the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
Mize said that officers completing the class can now teach it to agencies that include their own and others.
“This program was put in place to help officers channel those stressors and ultimately help them personally, their families and the citizens they serve,” Mize said.