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College of The Albemarle (COA) recently celebrated 26 Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) students for program completion: 12 students from the fall 2022 program and 14 from the spring 2023 program. The ceremony included remarks from COA President Dr. Jack Bagwell, COA BLET director John Etheridge and the 2022 and 2023 class presidents, Elginn Britt and Matthew Dunfee, respectively. The featured speaker for the event was Eddie Buffaloe, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and former Elizabeth City police chief.

During 16 weeks of training, the students completed over 640 contact hours, 36 blocks of instruction and multiple practical exams. BLET instruction and training includes firearms, driving, traffic crash, patrol techniques, domestic violence, criminal investigation, CPR/first responders, rapid deployment, explosive/hazardous materials emergencies and subject control arrest techniques. Students also successfully completed the Police Officer Physical Abilities Test (POPAT).

The students recognized for fall 2022 included: Elginn Britt (Pasquotank), Nadiral Britton (Pasquotank), Torii Eastman (Dare), Noah Floyd (Currituck), Ryan Gallaccio (Currituck), Qvontes McIntyre (Pasquotank), Douglas Poyner (Pasquotank), Diego Ramirez (Dare), David McDowell Schafer (Gates), Amayah Simpson (Pasquotank), Corinne Riforgiate (Currituck) and Eric Williams (Pasquotank).

The students recognized for spring 2023 included: Lyle Adam Coutts (Dare), Leah Collins (Pasquotank), Taylor Renae Dickey (Currituck), Matthew Dunfee (Dare), Travis Hardman (Dare), Matthew Huber (Dare), Douglas Lane Jr. (Pasquotank), James Douglas Lange Jr. (Currituck), Corey Morris (Currituck), Kenneth Nati (Camden), Wesley Rock (Dare), Elizabeth Simmons (Currituck), Troy Smith (Dare) and William Wright (Pasquotank).

Special awards were presented during the ceremony to recognize outstanding training and academic performance. The “Top Gun” award was given to the student who demonstrated the highest proficiency during firearms training. The “Iron Man” award was presented to the student who performed best in the physical training assessments. The “Driver Supreme” award was presented to the student with the best overall driving course score. The “Academic Honors” award was given to the student with the highest grade, based on a percentage of the class. The “Law Enforcement Excellence” award was presented to the student whom BLET instructors determined had the best overall performance in the class.

The fall 2022 class awards included:

Ryan Gallaccio – “Top Gun,” “Iron Man,” “Driver Supreme”

Qvontes McIntyre – “Academic Honors”

David Schafer – “Law Enforcement Excellence”

The spring 2023 class awards included:

James Lange – “Top Gun,” “Academic Honors”

Wesley Rock – “Iron Man”

Cory Morris – “Driver Supreme”

Troy Smith – “Law Enforcement Excellence”

For more information on BLET, contact Cheryl Griffin at 252-335-0821 ext. 2210 or cheryl_griffin@albemarle.edu. Contact Tammy W. Sawyer, COA director of communications and marketing, at 252-335-0821 ext. 2420 or tammy_sawyer32@albemarle.edu for all other COA-related information.

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