Florida FWC Graduates Largest Class Ever
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September 8, 2006
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FWC recruit officers
Daniel Cantu (left rear) and Brian Cazalot talk with a boater
during a vessel check during training. The recruits graduated
Sept. 8 from the FWC's law enforcement training academy.
(FWC
photo by Valli Finney) |
One is an attorney; another, a former school teacher-coach; a third,
a brand-new father; and yet another knew since he was just a tyke
what career path he was going to take. Several served in the
military.
During the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC)
law enforcement training, one injured his neck, which resulted in
surgery, another one’s brother died in a traffic crash.
Still, the 46 men and women who graduated today from FWC’s Training
Academy pulled together. The class is the largest ever at the
academy and had the most people complete the rigorous 29-week
training, seeing their families only on weekends and holidays. Only
one of the original 47 did not complete the course.
“I applaud these men and women for their dedication to protecting
Florida’s natural resources for their long-term well-being and
enforcing the laws of the state,” Gov. Jeb Bush said. “We appreciate
their service to the state.”
FWC Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto also praised the new
officers.
“Graduation from the FWC’s law enforcement academy is an
accomplishment reserved for an elite few individuals who have the
stamina, courage and character to measure up to the highest
standards of this profession,” Barreto said.
FWC’s law enforcement commander, Col. Julie Jones, commended the men
and women who graduated today, saying they excelled while in
training.
“People will know when they come into contact with these men and
women they are dealing with professionals,” Jones said.
The graduates learned natural resource laws and other state laws
they may enforce while on patrol, forensic evidence techniques,
self-defense tactics, proper weapon practices, boating safety, how
to operate boats and patrol vehicles and wrestled alligators.
“They learned how to help people in times of need or when an
emergency arises, be it on the water or on land,” Jones said.
“These graduates are prepared to enter the workforce as top law
enforcement officers, protecting people and natural resources,”
Jones said. “This group came into the academy as individuals, but
grew together as a group,” she said.
Charlie Bishop, an FWC lieutenant at the training academy, agrees.
“This is probably the best group we’ve had,” he said.
The officers will, in about two weeks, go to their assigned areas of
the state.
The top academic graduate, Robert “Bob” O’Horo, practiced law in
Atlanta for more than seven years before deciding something better
was out there other than corporate mergers and acquisitions.
“I made a lot of money but didn’t like my job,” he said. “I’d rather
be happy.”
What brought him to FWC was his love of hunting and fishing and
helping save natural resources for future generations, something his
fellow graduates agree upon. Originally from Pennsylvania, he moved
in 2004 to Florida. O’Horo is assigned to the Southwest Region and
will patrol Charlotte County.
Another graduate, Doyle Cook, who was reared in Crawfordville
hunting and fishing, watched FWC officers (and their predecessors)
educate people about the importance of following the laws regulating
saltwater fishing and natural resources.
He received the coveted achievement (most-likely to succeed) award,
named in memory of Officer Roy R. Burnsed Jr., who died in 2001 in
the line of duty.
After high school, Cook joined the Marines, serving eight years
active duty and as a reservist. He graduated from Florida State
University with a criminology degree, where during his last
semester, completed an internship with FWC, which sealed his desire
to become an FWC officer.
“When I have children,” the married officer said, “I want to make
sure the resources have not been depleted so my children can enjoy
it the same way I have.”
Cook is assigned to the Special Enforcement Area in South Florida
and will patrol Collier County.
Dara Demarest, one of three women in the academy, first became a
teacher who coached softball and soccer (both of which she played in
high school) and was employed by the City of Vero Beach in the
recreation department. She is originally from Hollywood in Broward
County. She is assigned to the South Region and will patrol Palm
Beach County.
“The academy was definitely strenuous physically,” she said.
Nathaniel “Brian” Christy, learned on the academy’s third day how
quickly the recruits had become a family. His only sibling, brother
Paul Christy, 33, died in a traffic crash in Hamptonville, N.C.
“I was pulled from my classes and told,” he said. “They said ‘take
as much time as you need.’ They asked all the time how my family and
I were doing.”
The former Air Force staff sergeant, who was a survival instructor,
took the first test of the academy with his fellow recruits the day
after returning from his brother’s funeral.
He scored in the high 90s, thanks to others helping him with the
studies he missed. He is assigned to the Special Enforcement Area
and will patrol Monroe County.
Another officer, Daniel Cantu, has a degree in wildlife management
from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. He is from
Houston, and is assigned to the Southwest Region, based out of Lee
County.
“I love to hunt and fish and wanted a job dealing with natural
resources,” he said. “I’ve always been attracted to law
enforcement.”
Adam “Beau” Small, a former Marine artillery officer who served in
Kuwait, is from Jacksonville. He has a master’s degree in
criminology and is assigned to the Southwest Region, where he will
patrol Lee County.
“I’ve been planning on a law enforcement career and it was kind of a
no-brainer to become an FWC officer.
I was sitting in the desert, hot as can be, and I said: “My next job
will be on the water,’” the long-time saltwater fisherman said. “I
wanted to be close to home, and I love Florida.”
But, he nearly didn’t make it through the academy. During the
defensive tactics training portion, he herniated a disk in his neck
and then it ruptured. Following corrective surgery, he continued the
classroom work, but could not participate in physical activities for
a month.
“I bounced back pretty quickly and am 100 percent now,” Small said.
The strenuousness of the academy implanted one thought in his head
as he pondered his learning experiences.
“The end is worth the means.”
And, with this academy, a second-generation FWC officer graduated.
Joseph Johnston, 21, of Lake City, is the son of FWC pilot Joe
Johnston, based out of the North Central Region, and nephew of FWC
investigator Eric Johnston who is assigned to the Carrabelle office.
The new officer will be assigned to the Northeast Region and patrol
Osceola County.
Even though his father and uncle attempted to prepare him for the
academy, he was surprised.
“It was a whole lot more than I thought,” he said.
The new officer said he never thought of being anything else.
“It’s all I ever knew growing up,” he said.
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