Friday, September 17, 1999

Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway welcomed nine new deputies tonight at ceremonies marking the completion of the 77^th Session of the Law Enforcement Basic Training Academy conducted by the Bossier Parish Community College Criminal Justice Institute.

Recognized at the graduation ceremonies were James Earl Blalock, Reginald Dewayne Burks, Shajuana Arletta Carr, Aaron Keith Cornelius, Kristopher Kirk Hill, Kelly Parker Lippincott, Matthew Brown Purgerson, John Adam Scheen and Dujuan Niemaih Tillman.

One of the new deputies, Aaron Cornelius, served as the class president.

The new deputies will start the corrections phase of their training Monday. After completing eight more weeks of training – two weeks of corrections training and six weeks of field training – they will continue their Sheriff’s Office service at the Caddo Correctional Center in North Shreveport.

The new deputies started their eight weeks of training as cadets in July with course work in firearms, legal, traffic, investigations, procedures and first responder. In successfully completing the institute’s basic training course, the cadets passed written and practical cardiopulmonary resuscitation course work and met the requirements for Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification.

Besides other phases of training required by the institute and the state peace officer examination, the cadets passed a physical fitness test that included push-ups, sit-ups, flexibility and a 1 1/2-mile run.