Twenty-one Complete BLET
Shown with BLET School Director Bernie Taylor (far left) are graduates of Edgecombe Community College’s 14th Basic Academy of Basic Law Enforcement Training.
Twenty-one cadets graduated from Edgecombe Community College’s 14th Basic Academy of Basic Law Enforcement Training on July 2.
The graduation ceremony featured comments by Zami McDuffie, platoon leader of the 14th Basic Academy.
Graduates and their agencies are:
- Dylan Ballard, Goldsboro Police Department
- Emanuel Boyd, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office
- Payton Brown, Murfreesboro Police Department
- Rylan Carter, Tarboro Police Department
- Ashley Cherry, Bertie County Sheriff’s Office
- Anastasia Clifford, Chowan County Sheriff’s Office
- Cody Cook, Roanoke Rapids Police Department
- Brandon Davis, Bertie County Sheriff’s Office
- Antoine Eaton, Northampton County Sheriff’s Office
- Eric Farthing Jr., Farmville Police Department
- Jeremiah Jenkins, Bertie County Sheriff’s Office
- Montana Jones, Hertford County Sheriff’s Office
- Zami McDuffie, Northampton County Sheriff’s Office
- Isaac Miller IV, Halifax County Sheriff’s Office
- Zachary Perry, Rocky Mount Police Department
- Sidney Pierce, Edenton Police Department
- Demurio Pillmon, Bertie County Sheriff’s Office
- William Plyler II, Roanoke Rapids Police Department
- Jewel Shannon, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office
- Isaiah Sorto, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office
- Johnny Williams III, Greene County Sheriff’s Office
All of the graduates are in the process of being hired by the law enforcement agencies.
ECC’s BLET Academy prepares students for entry-level employment as a law enforcement officer with state, county, or municipal governments. The cadets completed an intensive 22-week program and have passed the certification exam mandated by the NC Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.
The BLET program is unique in that it includes training in high-risk calls; certification in tasers, expandable batons, and pepper spray; and Officer Survival Training. Graduates also receive 18 college credit hours toward an associate degree in criminal justice.
In addition, cadets complete a 40-hour block of Crisis Intervention Team Training, also known as CIT Training. This training teaches the cadets how to de-escalate volatile situations involving individuals in mental crisis or suffering from developmental disabilities.
Upon certification, cadets receive a CIT pin for their uniform. This pin and the training are nationally recognized, especially by the population suffering from developmental disabilities. When individuals see the CIT pin on the officer’s uniform, that alone can help to de-escalate the encounter.
CIT Training is a recent addition to ECC’s BLET curriculum and sets the program apart from other programs.
The college’s next Basic Academy for BLET begins October 3. To learn more, please contact (252) 618-6613 or taylorb@edgecombe.edu.