Cherokee Sheriffs Office Citizens Academy

An Eye Opening Experience

By Julie Senger

At Family Life magazines, we are constantly looking for ways to get involved in the community because its our community, too, and we feel this better equips us to provide interesting, impactful information that allows us to continue to connect with you our friends and neighbors. With this in mind, when I read about the inaugural Cherokee Sheriffs Citizens Academy, I seized the exciting educational opportunity to learn about the important and often dangerous nature of what these brave men and women do to protect us on a daily basis, so I could share my experience and help raise awareness.

The inaugural Sheriffs Citizens Academy was a ten-week course, with class one night a week except for week ten, which had an extra class Saturday morning for gun range instruction and graduation. There was also an opportunity to schedule a ride along with a patrol officer outside of class time. My classmates came from all walks of life: doctors, attorneys, Boy Scouts, restaurant owners, retirees, and many other backgrounds.

The first night of class began with Sheriff Frank Reynolds welcoming us. In his speech, he made it very clear that the notion of We (the Sheriffs Office) got this! is no longer a reality. He wanted to be sure that we understood his desire to partner with Cherokee citizens to help keep our community safe, stating that, None of us is as smart as all of us. Sheriff Reynolds was also very quick to point out the hierarchy/chain of command upon which the citizens of Cherokee County sit at the very top, above himself he works for us.

Sheriff Reynolds was followed by brief self-introductions of all the other instructors who would be teaching us about their respective areas of law enforcement in the coming weeks. One thing was clear after the introductions were complete: every single one of these instructors sincerely loves their job.

Week 2 Uniformed Patrol
During this class, we learned that there were more than 115,000 calls in 2016, and that the Cherokee Sheriffs Office (CSO) uniform patrol officers drove more than 1.5 million miles within Cherokee County. Each patrol officer receives twelve weeks of training before hitting the road. After class, we were able to go outside to see the different patrol vehicles and all the state-of-the-art technology they contain. We were also given the opportunity to sign up to ride along with a patrol officer.

I rode along with Cpl. Butler of the BridgeMill Precinct. While nothing more than a traffic stop occurred during our patrol, Cpl. Butler did explain the protocol for the more serious types of calls they must answer, and had one of those occurred, for my safety, he would have dropped me out at a public place to be picked up. I was also allowed to use the radar gun to track the speed of drivers who were driving down a very popular parkway in Cherokee.

Week 3 Administration and Adult Detention Center (ADC) Operations and Tour
CSOs ADC has 512 beds. During the time of the class tour, there were no open beds, and new inmates were issued a thick floor mat, a pillow, and linens until a bed became available. In the ADC, men, women, juveniles, and mental health patients are separated into different areas. The male inmates are divided and housed based upon severity of crime. As there are not nearly as many female inmates, they are all housed in the same area, regardless of crime severity.

Week 4 Use of K-9s in Law Enforcement
The CSO had five K-9s at the time of this class. Each K-9 is trained for 1.5 years in Holland, with another 2-3 months of formal training with their handler after they are purchased by the CSO. The best dog breeds for K-9 work are Dutch Shepherds and Belgian Malinois. Each K-9 costs an average of $15,000. These intelligent, disciplined dogs are trained to detect bombs and narcotics as well as recover evidence/missing persons. CSO K-9s respond to all in-progress crimes in which a suspect can escape/flee. This class concluded with an impressive K-9 demonstration of narcotics recovery as well as a handler donning a bite suit to show how these dogs help officers aggressively apprehend dangerous suspects.

Week 5 Traffic Enforcement Unit
-The statistics we learned in this class were quite staggering. Be careful out there, and please wear your seat belt!
-The CSO has only eight officers to cover the over 400-square miles of Cherokee County.
-There is an average of four traffic accident fatalities each month in Cherokee County.
-Forty percent of these traffic accident fatalities could have been prevented if seatbelts were worn.
-Seeing a traffic enforcement officer parked on the side of the road will deter a driver from speeding for an average of four miles.

Week 6 Criminal Investigation Division (CID)
There are thirty officers to investigate all crimes in Cherokee County. CID handles crimes against persons, property, and children as well as financial crimes.

In 2016, there were 1,400 crimes reported against children in Cherokee. Property crime is also quite overwhelming. A lot of property crime consists of theft from vehicles with the doors left unlocked, so please lock your doors even in your own driveway.

At the conclusion of this class, we were given an opportunity to dust for fingerprints, collect crime scene evidence, and analyze blood spatter patterns in mock crime scenes. We also visited the crime lab to learn about its evidence analyzation equipment.

Week 7 Court Services
This class consisted of a tour of the old jail and old courthouse. There are quite a few interesting stories of items that inmates tried to deliver or receive to/from people on the outside from the top floor windows of the old jail. In addition, we were able to tour areas that are normally closed off to the public in the new courthouse, and we learned about all the security measures that are in place to ensure safety in the courtroom.

Week 8 Special Operations
(HNT, SWAT, and STRIKE)
There are fourteen members on the CSO Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT). The members on this team must have above average negotiation and problem-solving skills. They have eighty hours of in-class training, and they are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their goal is to resolve hostage situations peacefully and safely. Some of the unique pieces of equipment that the HNT uses are a rolling office; a long-range acoustical device (LRAD), which allows them to speak with individuals through a brick wall; and if all else fails SWAT (special weapons attack team).

CSOs SWAT consists of 37 individuals who endure very rigorous physical training before being admitted onto the team, some of which is very similar to Navy SEAL training techniques in that candidates must complete tasks while being deprived of sleep for at least 24 hours. SWAT members must also complete an eight-hour course on gun and shooting laws. Their objective is to take out a suspect in five minutes or less, and they have some pretty intimidating artillery, including a Sig MPX, with which to accomplish this goal.

The STRIKE teams objective is to operate and deliver the communications support vehicle, emergency rescue vehicle, all terrain vehicles, SWAT transport vehicle, hostage negotiations vehicle, mobile command post, robot, and other assets to critical incidents. They provide multiple communications and technology capabilities, provide incident commanders with a mobile command post, provide for the establishment of a tactical operations command, document critical information during on-going operations, and staff critical technical and communications support positions.

Week 9 Cherokee Warrants and CMANS
The CSO Warrant Unit serves subpoenas, warrants for misdemeanors and felonies, temporary protective orders, 10-13 orders, and FIFAs. Interesting statistic eighty percent of violators are repeat offenders. As you can imagine, this can be a very dangerous/difficult job, as no one is ever happy to see a warrant officer at their door.

The Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (CMANS) provided some startling information:
-Eighty Percent of domestic violence issues are related to substance abuse.
-One billion in cash comes through Atlanta to Mexico each year for methamphetamine sales.
-85 percent of the worlds recreational drug use occurs in the U.S.

Week 10 Training and Gun Range
The training that CSO deputies are required to complete is extensive (60+ hours, and they must requalify each year). Many also choose to go through additional advanced training and/or take college courses.

The CSO gun range consists of the following:
-25-yard qualifying range
-Live-fire shoot house with multiple rooms, allowing for numerous force-on-force scenarios
-100-yard rifle range and fifty-yard multipurpose range
-25-yard open bay range used for static steel targets
-Six reactive steel lanes (Bill Rogers lanes)

Before my classmates and I could shoot and utilize the CSO gun range, we were taught these cardinal rules of firearms safety:
-Always assume the gun is loaded.
-Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.
-Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire.
-Be sure of your target (behind it and beside it).
-Never draw a weapon behind the firing line unless instructed to do so.
-Dont anticipate commands.

We then had the option to use the high-tech, judgmental pistol shooting simulator, which is an interactive video training system that allows students to walk into an active shooter situation, carry on conversation with a potential active shooter and other video characters, and determine whether the use of deadly force is warranted. This is a very realistic system and valuable training tool.

Finally, students met on a Saturday morning to use the gun range. Many of my classmates were very adept and comfortable handling guns. I was not very relaxed, as it would only be the second time in my life that I had ever shot a firearm. My hands were shaking vigorously as I attempted to load my magazine with bullets. My instructors were very helpful and quick to put me at ease. By the end of the day, not only had I shot the standard issue pistols that the CSO uses, I was also confident enough to shoot an AR-15.

Overall, this course gave me the chance to better understand what our police officers go through from as close to their perspective as a civilian can get. The next class has been streamlined down from ten to eight weeks and will begin September 4. All the same topics will still be covered in the eight-week course. This free, unique opportunity is made available to the first twenty citizens who sign up and pass/fulfill all the necessary paperwork/background check requirements. For more information, email Joshua Watkins at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 678-493-4097.