NMU Police Academy graduation brings in new officers

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Friday was graduation day for the NMU Police Academy’s recruits. After hundreds of hours, this year’s class is ready to join the police force.

For 15 weeks, the recruits endured the same training and scenarios they would typically face in the field. The class spent hundreds of hours learning the ins and outs of Michigan laws, firearms training, emergency vehicle operation, handcuffs, and defensive tactics and first aid.

Sgt. Nate Dawson, NMU Police Academy’s training coordinator, had high praise for the new officers.

“They were great throughout the entire academy, with their attitude, with their hard work ethic, and with their grades,” Dawson said.

The academy involves more than just law enforcement skills. Graduates learned how to work together, solve problems, face adversity and how to react in high-pressure situations.

“I’m very proud of these recruits, they’ve put in a lot of work, a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication. They’re a very intelligent group and I’m very, very proud of them,” Dawson said.

Jason Swanson, one of NMU Police Academy’s instructors, says these new officers are ready to serve the communities they are soon returning to.

“Everybody’s coming from small communities, and I think that every individual that goes through our classes here brings something from that community. You ask them at the beginning of the academy ‘Why do you want to be a police officer?’ And a lot of them have very community-oriented answers. They’re going back to where they grew up and I think they want to be the best police officers they can be,” Swanson said.

Dawson shares the same sentiment.

“This class is ready to go to their departments,” Dawson said. “They’re going all around the upper peninsula back to their communities to serve the public.”

The video above will feature the TV6 livestream until staff can clip the corresponding story, if available, from broadcasts or other TV6 content. You can subscribe to our YouTube page or download TV6+ to stream the latest local news and weather.