Decatur police relaunch Explorer program to inspire future officers
The Department's Explorer program was relaunched this year after it was put on hold for a few years beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight students from around Morgan County signed up and it was led by Officer John Wellman, his first time to lead the program..
"We do the training so they can see what we do," Wellman said. "It's more about building relationships with them and showing them what law enforcement does and how (students) can be good, productive members of society."
Each day started off with a round of physical training, with each participant being asked to do 22 pushups, 25 sit-ups, and a mile and half run to show them what it is like to train for the police force. They have to complete an obstacle course as well.
"That's what the state requires each law enforcement officer to do," Wellman said.
Wellman also explained how patrol officers use radar and laser devices during traffic stops to measure vehicle speed and identify potential violations.
Last week, a technician from the Crime Scene Investigation team came to teach the group a two-hour class, which included how to conduct a shooting investigation.
"He went over bullet trajectory, using a laser to show where the bullet had been shot and what position the shooter was in, whether sitting or standing," Wellman said. "They got to go through the whole experience and were even able to get fingerprinted and learned how that process works."
Later, the group observed four new Decatur police recruits undergo pepper spray training, in which each recruit was sprayed in the face and then required to strike two blocking pads held by fellow officers before successfully handcuffing another — simulating a scenario where an officer is exposed to pepper spray but must still make an arrest and control the situation. Wellman said this was the first time an Explorer group witnessed such an event.
This was the first year for Diego Fuentes, Dana Jade Puckett and Kenadie Livingston to join the program. All three said they are interested in law enforcement careers after they graduate high school.
Fuentes, a junior at West Morgan High School, said he always talks to his school resource officer about the nature of police work.
"I always ask him how is it and what you have to do and it made me more interested," Fuentes said.
He said ever since he was in kindergarten and adults would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he always told them a police officer.
Austin Junior High freshman Puckett said she was interested in a career with the FBI and said speaking with police officers in Decatur led her to enrolling in the Explorer program.
Livingston, a freshman at Hartselle High School, said she was in the car with her mother one day when they were pulled over, and the interaction with the officer sparked her interest in law enforcement.
"We started watching the shows after that and I started talking to my SRO and he would show me what he did and sent me websites," Livingston said. "It was pretty cool."
Decatur police can point to the success of their Explorer Program through one of their own — Officer Grant Jones participated in the program as a teen.
"He got to come and teach one of the days last week and that was a good thing," Wellman said. "They could see he was a kid in high school at one point and did this same program and now he's an officer here in the city. It was awesome for them to see that."
Jones, 25, said he enrolled in the program in early 2017 after he had taken an interest in law enforcement through his father, who was a captain with the Decatur Police Department before he retired.
"The program peaked my interest in law enforcement even more as I began to learn things on a personal level and get a feel for more of what the job entailed," Jones said Friday.
He said one of the most cherished things he could remember about the program was graduating and receiving his plaque. Three years later, he applied to join the force.
"I think it is important for the youth to be involved as it provides good community service, exposure, and can help show the youth that officers are human as well and form good relationships between the youth and the department," Jones said of the program.
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
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