1 of 2
Photos courtesy of Clay Hammac.
Leah Ingram Eagle shakes hands with Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego while receiving her diploma for completing the Citizen’s Sheriff Academy training course.
2 of 2
Photos courtesy of Clay Hammac.
The fall 2023 graduating class of the Citizen’s Sheriff’s Academy.
It’s crazy how fast those eight weeks of classes went by.
Each week, I found myself looking forward to my Thursday night at the Citizen’s Sheriff Academy.
For our final three weeks, we finished up with the Drug Enforcement Task Force/Compact, training to survive an active shooter and had our official graduation.
Drug Enforcement Task Force and Compact
The task force is made up of members of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Alabaster Police Department, Vestavia Hills Police Department and Shelby County District Attorney’s office.
Capt. Joe McGee, who is commander over the task force and Compact, and Lt. Clayton Smith shared with us that evening about the way these programs serve to break the cycle of addiction and prevent drugs in Shelby County.
The Drug Enforcement Task Force targets drug traffickers and dealers and takes a different approach than they do with users. They adopt cases, investigate complaints, assist in drug-related death investigations (recently, nine out of ten involve fentanyl) and work undercover or with confidential informants.
We learned that marijuana and fentanyl use is on the rise, about different types of vape products and other medicines that have become popular to abuse recently.
Compact 2020 originally kicked off in 2016 to help juveniles with substance abuse and drug overdose and to tackle trends. The program was to be evaluated after four years and since it was working well, it continued and the “2020” part of the name was dropped.
Compact uses special investigators to gather information from student resource officers, coaches, teachers and parents and compiles actionable intelligence and resources to share with parents and help address drug problems. Compact officers do not make arrests, but they do give educational presentations, mentor youth, participate in local community outreach events and more.
Photos courtesy of Clay Hammac.
The fall 2023 graduating class of the Citizen’s Sheriff’s Academy.
Surviving Active Shooter Training
Lt. Shelby O’Connor gave us insight on mass shootings versus a targeted attack. Her most repeated advice was “Just because you’re shot, doesn’t mean you’re dead.”
We discussed and analyzed several mass shooting incidents across the U.S. and in Alabama over the last several decades and also watched footage from the Las Vegas shooting in 2017.
The three stages of disaster responses for those in an active shooter situation include: denial, deliberation and a decisive moment. When law enforcement arrives, their priorities are to neutralize the threat, evacuate victims and provide medical treatment to those injured.
We did a few scenarios of how to respond if a shooter had come into our classroom. Several of us at my table ran into a large, unlocked closet behind us, others hid under the desks and some ran toward other exits.
In our last scenario, I thought I was being helpful and locked the door so the “shooter” couldn’t get in, so the scenario didn’t really play out as normal since they couldn't get in and went away.
Graduation
Sheriff John Samaniego was out of town for business the week we were supposed to graduate, so we came back the next Thursday (Nov. 16) to hear from him, Deputy Chief Clay Hammac and Major Jay Fondren. We each got our diploma and a picture with the sheriff before we said our goodbyes.
This class was such a great experience and my classmates and I enjoyed it.
The next class is set for March 2024. Information can be found about the academy and other opportunities, including a firearms training course and women’s safety class, on the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office website at
shelbyso.com/176/Citizen-Training.
Leah Ingram Eagle is a community editor at Starnes Media.
