13 cadets graduate from Las Cruces police academy with socially distant ceremony
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Thirteen police cadets graduated from the Las Cruces Police Department's training academy.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 49th Las Cruces Police Academy’s graduation was limited to a short Zoom presentation and 13 separate badge-pinning ceremonies – one for each new graduate.
To comply with state health orders, each cadet was permitted to have up to four relatives present during their individual badge-pinning.
The badges were pinned Friday, Sept. 18, at the East Mesa Public Safety Complex.
The police cadets who graduated are: Jaime Badillo; James Borden; Edwin Castaneda; Luis Duarte; Jacob Figueroa; Luis Heredia; David Keyson; Dalton Kinney; Jesus Rodriguez; Diego Salazar; Matthew Torres; David Udero; and Christian Vitale.
The academy provides more than 1,000 hours of law enforcement education and training. The bulk of the academy, roughly 75 percent of it, is classroom instruction while the remaining 25 percent consists of field training in and around Las Cruces.
Each graduate will now be assigned to an experienced field training officer who guides them during 16 weeks of instruction before becoming a patrol officer.
