Sterling Scott finally got a chance to see what he missed.
The senior-to be at Park Hill South recently graduated as part of the second class of the Riverside Junior Police Academy.
That ceremony was held on Friday, July 19, at the Riverside Community Center.
He was one of 15 students, from four different high schools, who were recognized for completing various tasks throughout the week in an introduction to law enforcement.
He heard about it last year but didn’t sign up.
“I wish I’d done it last year, now I’m a senior and I can’t come back,” he said.
Throughout this past school year, Scott had plenty of discussion with officer Matt Westrich, the school resource officer at Park Hill South, who also works in the criminal investigation unit when school isn’t in session.
Westrich is one of three officers in Riverside that runs the junior police academy.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill South student Chloe Morales talks during the graduation ceremony of the second class of the Riverside Junior Police Academy on Friday, July 20 at the Riverside Community Center. Morales was given two awards during the ceremony.
The officer told Scott that he thought he would enjoy the class and the student had an interest in seeing how police departments work and see the parts that aren’t televised on popular shows.
Scott enjoyed what the class was like and through a MILO simulation got a first-hand look at how quickly a situation can escalate for officers.
His simulation was a traffic stop with a non-compliant subject.
“I didn’t win that situation, I ended up getting punched right in the face,” Scott said. “I didn’t tase him in time.”
The program, provided by Midwest Public Risk, gave plenty of real-life training simulations for the cadets. Westrich noted he was able to dial up or dial down the interaction based on the assertiveness of the verbal commands given by the cadets.
Scott said his subject in the simulation was 10 feet away and in a matter of seconds was upon the cadet.
“I was telling him to stop and he was there before I could get my taser out,” Scott said. “It was a very eye-opening experience. Makes it a lot harder in the moment. It felt real and I got nervous, I started shaking. I thought it was going to be really easy when, then I’m like, ‘oh, shoot, I’m nervous.’ I didn’t want to lose and I wanted to come out alive or unharmed and unfortunately that isn’t how it came out. I was really shocked how fast things can change. They can change instantly.”
Scott was one of 10 new faces to the class. That meant there were some students back and the person chosen to lead the class as president was Chloe Morales.
The Park Hill South student remembered a lot of last year’s class but year two had some changes.
“I had planned on doing it all the years, I could,” said Morales, who will be a junior. “Since it is my career field, why not. I have been thinking about it since they asked me if I would be the president. It is a big deal for me and it is a big deal for them. I just think it is honorable to be the class president, it is a real fun experience and leading them seems easy, it just flows.”
She is interested in becoming a police officer in the future and this helps her get a taste of it.
Morales, like Scott, liked the real-like simulation.
Her opportunity was driving upon the scene of a robbery, where a suspect pulled a gun on her.
“You think this will happen and this is how you will react, but it doesn’t work that way,” she said. “That was eye-opening.”
Other students returning this year was Alanie Hacker, Conner Addington, John Tovar, Kyra Rawlings and Trevor Hall. They were part of the first class of 11 and all five that were eligible to come back.
The rest of the class was: Adrianna Hewitt, Alex Lopez, Andy Adair, Ian McLaughlin, Jay Elder, Micah Poet, Nelson Rivera and Trison True.
The cadets were from St. Joseph, St. Pius X, Park Hill and Park Hill South.
“A lot of things in year two we don’t have to reinvent the wheel and we already know some things to do different next year,” Westrich said. “There are always things you can’t see it until it happens, but that is what makes it better. Last year being the first year, it was trial and error. This year was more hands on and more team building and more police work.”
The sponsors this year were the city of Riverside, Daymark Solutions, Firehouse Subs, Galls, Happy Sign, Logo-U-Up, Midwest Public Risk, Minuteman Defense, Park Hill South, Ranger Trophies, Smokin’ Guns BBQ and Vistar.
Westrich, officer Noah Gibler and corporal Cari Terpening ran the class for the second year in a row.
In a few weeks the group will look back on how the second class went and start planning for the third.
Planning for this class took seven months and when school resumed from Christmas break the application process opened up for 60 days.
The goal is to have the class number increase to 20 in the future.
During Friday’s luncheon to celebrate the graduation, a number of awards were presented to the cadets.
In the men’s physical agility test, Poet was first and Scott was second.
Morales, who admitted to struggling with pulling the test dummy during last year’s drills, was first in the women’s physical agility award. Hewitt was second.
The 2019 Jefferson Taylor Leadership Award went to Morales, for recognition of her exemplary leadership, initiative, motivation and commitment to the Riverside Junior Police Academy.
The 2019 Upstream from Ordinary Award went to Elder: for recognition of his exemplary conduct, efficiency and teamwork during the Riverside Junior Police Academy.
“People don’t know what we do and see everything on TV and they just think that is how it really is and it is not,” Westrich said. “Especially these kids, we will rely on them when we are in our 60s and 70s ... these kids will be making decisions for us down the road. We want them to know the truth and not what they see on social media or television or on Live PD. Live PD is good, I watch it all the time. The thing with Live PD, they cut out a lot of the stuff you don’t see. There is a lot more than going out and writing tickets. We have to bridge the gap in our community and this is really a good way to do it. Especially with these young people, these kids are getting a dose of what policing really is, not what they see on TV or read on social media.”