The Las Cruces Police Department will graduate 28 cadets from its 51st Academy on Friday afternoon.
The graduation ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, June 17, at the Las Cruces Convention Center. Attendance for the graduation ceremony is limited to the cadets, their families, Las Cruces police officials and invited guests.
Of the 28 cadets expected to graduate, 26 will become officer-trainees with the Las Cruces Police Department while two will join the New Mexico State University Police Department.
The graduating class includes Gage Adler, Travis Allison, Christian Alvarez, Ramon Armendariz, Andrea Castaneda, Ivan Chacon, Edward Chavez, Christian Corral, Nathan Dorado, Frank Gamez, Adrian Hernandez, Carlos Hernandez, Jonah Hernandez, Marcus Hughes, Hilario Ibarra, Arnie Martinez, Joan Monsivias, Enrique Olivas-Gomez, Johnathan Pagan, Louis Reyna, Kimberly Rios, Karen Rodriguez, Ricardo Romero, Matthew Sanchez, Chanan Singh, Adam Takiari, Trent Williams and Jordan Zielke.
Edward Chavez and Jordan Zielke are graduating on behalf of the New Mexico State University Police Department.
All 28 graduates will have completed rigorous training exercises and passed comprehensive state exams that made them eligible for their New Mexico peace officer certification.
The education LCPD cadets receive exceeds requirements established by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. LCPD’s state-certified Academy provides more than 1,000 hours of law enforcement education and training. The bulk of the academy, roughly 75 percent of it, is classroom instruction while the remaining 25 percent consists of field training in and around Las Cruces.
Upon completion of the academy, each graduate joining LCPD will be assigned to an experienced field training officer who guides them on an additional 14 weeks of instruction before becoming a patrol officer.
Anyone interested in a career as a Las Cruces police officer can speak with a recruiter by texting JOINLCPD to 575-376-6817.