Arapahoe Sheriff launches new police academy with state approval

CENTENNIAL - For the past few decades, the sheriff's office has relied on different law enforcement agencies to train its recruits. But that all changed on June 9, when Sheriff Tyler Brown won final approval from P.O.S.T., Colorado's Peace Officers Standards and Training, to operate his own academy. The ACSO will now recruit, hire and train its own deputies with higher standards and expectations that match some of the best agencies in the nation. Sheriff Tyler Brown says the idea for a new academy was part of a strategy to raise the level of training and prepare the recruits for a successful career.

"One of the nice things about having our own academy is we can be selective in our process and ensure our deputies are trained in our culture of accreditation and excellence in community service," says Sheriff Tyler Brown.

Two years ago, Sheriff Brown raised the idea of a new police academy with Sgt. Quinn Cunningham, who he tapped to lead the effort. Cunningham spent the next 18 months, meticulously planning the new 'ACSO Training Academy.'

"This is hardest thing I've ever done professionally and the biggest project we've ever taken on as an agency," says Sgt. Quinn Cunningham, Academy Director. "We built our own lesson plans from the ground up. Our deputies will do more scenario-based training and more problem-solving than most agencies in this country," says Sgt. Cunningham.

The first class of 28 recruits will begin July 11. They will then spend the next 23 weeks undergoing rigorous training at the Sheriff's Office Headquarters in Centennial with firearms training at the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility. Once the recruits graduate in December 2022, they will begin working as deputies in the Arapahoe County Jail for a minimum of one year, at which point they can transfer into patrol with field training on the road.

"One of the biggest reasons we created our own academy was to move our non-certified deputies to P.O.S.T.-trained law enforcements officers and also to expand our response to large-scale situations outside the detention facility," says Sheriff Brown.

Under the new model, recruits will be hired, paid and trained as sheriff's office employees. The training will build on the existing curriculum with an emphasis on physical fitness, discipline, de-escalation, problem-solving, critical thinking and interacting with people with disabilities.

Candidates interested in a career as a deputy sheriff can apply online here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/arapahoe