Four Clermont Police Sergeants were among 52 officers from 33 agencies representing five states who recently graduated from a national law-enforcement leadership program.
Clermont Police Sgt. Dennis Hall, Sgt. Debbie Reasoner, Sgt. Eric Ruiz and Sgt. Marc Thompson completed the 10-week program presented by the University of Louisville’s Southern Police Institute. This was the 91st graduating class and for the sixth year, the Clermont Police Department has hosted the ceremony.
“The best thing I am taking from it is what I’ve learned from these other officers,” Sgt. Debbie Reasoner said. “We all do the same job, we just do it differently and we can learn a lot from each other.” The program covers the administrative side of law enforcement such as policy, budgeting and staffing, but the heart of the program is the personal relationships that are built during the five months of classes. “The book information is important, but the first-hand experiences shared and the relationships built between law enforcement officers is the real take-away,” Clermont Police Captain and member of the 57th graduating class, Michael McMaster said. “This program creates a special group of peers that officers can reach out to for guidance, support or just to share a tough call.”
Supervisors, family and friends came to Clermont from miles around to celebrate with their graduate. Agencies who participated in this year’s program came mostly from police departments and sheriff’s offices, but also included the Florida Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosive Investigations and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
