Training

 

The department is continuously training officers to assist them in their fire
suppression and law enforcement duties. All full-time sworn public safety officers
are certified at the Firefighter I and II level, have a Michigan Commission of Law
Enforcement Standards training certificate, and are certified as Medical First
Responders.

Sergeant Christopher Wright is the department’s training sergeant. Sergeant Wright has done an excellent job in organizing and scheduling training for members of the department.

 

Additionally, GHDPS maintains its membership with the West Michigan Criminal
Justice Training Consortium. The WMCJTC is a multi-agency training organization,
in which our full-time and part-time officers are sent to additional schools and
specialized training seminars.

 

With our continued involvement in the West Michigan Criminal Justice Training Consortium, a multi-agency training organization, GHDPS officers are often sent to additional schools and specialized training seminars.  As a member of the WMCJTC, GHDPS contributes 35% of our Act 302 funds (a portion of the fine on traffic tickets) in order to maintain membership and take advantage of the training offered through the organization.  In a typical year members of GHDPS participate in approximately 500 to 700 hours of training through the consortium.   This continues to be an excellent benefit for our agency, not simply measured in the up-to-date training and certifications  received, but from a financial standpoint as well.

 

The following list gives a glimpse of some of the training GHDPS members have had the opportunity to take part in:

 

Identification Fraud, Laser Radar Instructor, Field Training Officer, Motorcycle Operations, Precision Driving Competency Based Training, Background Investigations, Criminal investigations, Forensic Interviewing, Emergency Management, First Line Supervision, Pressure Point Control Tactics, UD10 (Crash Report) Ground Avoidance/Ground Escape, Honor Guard, Medical First Responder, Legal Update Drug Interdiction, Remington Armorer Ventilation, Patrol Rifle Instructor Water Rescue, and more.

 

The Training Division has a number of personnel who are trained in many different skill areas and in turn, contribute to the instruction of our officers.  They provide in-service training, as well as recertification in specialized areas, to each member of the Department. The following personnel are trainers for the Department:

 

Sgt. Clint Holt, Fire Marshal Jay Paulson, PSO III Dave Hudson, PSO III James Albright, PSO III Ryan Dalman, Detective Bryan Tithof, PSO III James Kibart, PSO III Dave Scott, PSO III Eric Rasch, PSO III Josh Tomes, PSO III Andy Cannon, PSO III Todd Devries, PSO III Ryan Enlow, PSO III Nichole Junge.

 

Our Field Training Officers are responsible for the training of all of our newly hired personnel.  The FTOs dedicate a great deal of time to new officers in order to properly prepare them to serve as officers for GHDPS. The following officers make up the FTO cadre:

 

Sgt. Clint Holt, Sgt. Christopher Wright, Sgt. Michael Ercole, PSO III Dave Scott, PSO III Eric Rasch, PSO III Joseph Schulte, PSO III Josh Tomes, PSO III Andy Cannon, PSO III Lee Adams, PSO I Terry Turkelson and PSO I Mike VanHook.