Wednesday, November 17, 1999

Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway welcomed 12 new deputies tonight at ceremonies marking the completion of the 78^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 Gerald Ramon Anderson, Diven Laron Broadnax, Michael Brandon Fort, David Joseph Gardner, Marvin Lawrence Graves, James Lee Harris, Jr., Eric Shane Mayes, Willie Nathaniel Roberson, Jr., Kevin Joseph Rivet, Eddie James Sanford, Jr., Carlos Antoine Walker and Steven Curtis Wright.

Three of the new deputies receive special recognition at the graduation ceremonies. Broadnax served as the class president, Walker earned the physical training award and Rivet was honored as the class Distinguished Graduate.

The new deputies will start the corrections phase of their training tomorrow. After completing ten more weeks of training – one week of corrections training and nine 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 September 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.