A Day in the Life of an Academy Recruit: Week Four

Week 4 began with a sobering reminder of the risk we as future law enforcement officers will be taking on a daily basis. Monday was the memorial service for Jefferson County Sheriff’s Sergeant David Baldwin, who lost his life the week prior during a traffic accident, in the line of duty, while serving his community. For those that have never been to an officer’s memorial, it was quite an experience. Aside from our Academy class and nearly 400 Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies, hundreds of officers from all over Colorado attended the ceremony. The family spoke during the memorial and made a statement that most of us should follow on a daily basis. “Live every day as if it is your last and always kiss your family goodbye due to the inherent risk that comes with your job”. Sergeant Baldwin was honored and remembered by many; his selfless service speaks for itself and although we did not get know him personally, Sergeant Baldwin was the kind of person each and every one of us aspires to become. The ceremony ended with a 21 gun salute, a several mile long caravan of police cruisers, and an early release for the class after a heart wrenching day.

For the rest of the week, we continued with Criminal Code and appropriately an Officer Survival class. The class really hit home and the numerous videos of officers dying and being seriously injured in the line of duty made you seriously reflect on our chosen profession. We ended the week with another test and some report writing, with some smaller real life scenarios thrown in.