KIRTLAND, Ohio — Finding people to protect and serve has been increasingly difficult for law enforcement agencies across the country and in Northeast Ohio.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office and Lakeland Community College have joined forces to address that challenge through a partnership.
John Crooks with Lakeland Community College said the basic police academy had stopped until the partnership started.
"We just didn't have the resources, the personnel. The sheriff came up, provided the personnel, the opportunity and the synergy was off the charts," said Crooks.
The second Lake County Sheriff’s Office Basic Police Academy with Lakeland Community College has 13 cadets. Of those 13, seven have already been hired, five of them to departments in Lake County. Officials say six more are currently being interviewed even before they leave the academy.
"It came to our attention over the last couple of years they were in danger of not being able to hold the academy anymore," said Deputy Chief Robert Izzo, who is also the academy commander.
"This is definitely another tool we have for recruitment," Izzo said.
Two recruits from the class will go to work for the Lake County Sheriff's Office after graduation.
Daniel Pettyjohn, who worked as a corrections officer for the sheriff's office, will work as a deputy when he graduates.
"You want to help people, you want to make an impact on the community, especially Lake County, the community that I live in," Pettyjohn said.
"Never had a backup plan or a secondary option. I knew this is what I was fully committing my life to at a young age," said cadet Devyn Mercilliott.
As part of the academy, local professionals bring real-world experience to the classroom, including 11th District Court of Appeals Judge Eugene Lucci.
"In this academy, there are police officers, lab people, I may be the only judge here. But, people that have done it and know what the real world is like, so that the cadets can learn from people that have actually done the work," Lucci said.
Academy graduates can work anywhere in the state, but Lake County law enforcement agencies are counting on the homegrown talent staying right in Lake County, and it appears to be working.
