OCEAN COUNTY – Morgan Blann, 11, appeared as serious as a drill sergeant as she led the seventh graduating youth academy class of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office to their places.
A seventh grader at Veteran’s Memorial School in Brick, Morgan was one of 33 young recruits who participated in the weeklong program held earlier this month at the Ocean County Police Academy. Many, but not all, of the students entering grades 6-9 from thirteen Ocean County municipalities shared Morgan’s aspirations to one day pursue careers in law enforcement.
The participants wore department-issued caps and logoed t-shirts with khaki shorts as they stood at attention and saluted the flag during the pledge of allegiance. The boys and girls then waited to receive certificates for their accomplishments, together with special medals draped around their necks.
Sgt. Shannon Dugan opened the graduation ceremony with a few introductions, beginning with Sheriff’s Officer Alexandra Kern. Kern planned the week’s activities that gave the young recruits a taste of police training and work.
Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy delivered a few brief remarks. He stressed the importance of the general public understanding and appreciating opportunities in the public safety field.
“We try to have a very good experience here,” said Mastronardy. “We received funding from the Sheriff’s Foundation, which pays for everything associated with this program.”
At a pre-graduation press conference with a sole reporter, the graduating class collectively invoked military etiquette with a loud “Yes, ma’am” when asked if they enjoyed the program. Many of the participants were also eager to share thoughts about their five-day jam-packed schedules.
As a law enforcement agency, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office follows many of the same rules and traditions established by the United States’ military branches. Even the younger recruits received daily marching and military etiquette training as part of their academy experience.
David Rojas, a Lakewood Middle School eighth grade student, said he enjoyed learning the marching protocol as well as the facing movements. Others found different aspects of the program provided more interest.
On Day 3 of training, the youth recruits proceeded to the Brick Municipal Docks where they had the opportunity to take a boat ride around the marina on the county’ marine unit.
“Going on the boat was the best part for me,” proclaimed Jayden Randazzo, a Beachwood sixth grade student.
When the students returned to the Police Academy that day, they received SWAT orientation by way of a demonstration.
“The kids got to play with all of the equipment that our SWAT team uses,” Kern shared. “They met a ton of members from our SWAT team and also saw a vehicle takedown by the SWAT team through a flashbang.”
Youth recruits did their own traffic stop scenarios and participated in competitions in handcuffing and firearms training. The winner of the handcuffing competition was Chase Battaglia, followed by Isaac Davis as runner up. Alexander Earlton won the firearms competition, while Jayden Randazzo achieved runner up status in the same category.
Students had the opportunity to learn the role fingerprinting plays in solving crimes and saw the county’s drone in action.
“I liked the FATS (FireArm Training Stimulator) machine the best,” shared sixth-grader Shan Morales. “We practiced with laser guns on targets.”
The Fire Marshall presented a demonstration that sixth grade homeschooled student Isaac David found quite insightful.
“If there’s a fire, they have to go into the house to inspect it,” David said. “They have to look to see what started the fire and if it was caused on purpose to hurt people.”
Day Four exposed the young recruits to four legged members of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff’s Officers Christine Casullo and Michael Fiorentino and their K-9s treated the kids to a special demonstration.
“They did a bite drill,” Kern said. “They then went out to find explosives in the field.”
The students also had the chance meet Sangria, a horse who was owned by Sheriff Officer Brian Stockhoff. After Stockhoff’s untimely death in a car crash, his family donated the horse to the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s Officer Juan Mercado coincidentally introduced Sangria to the young recruits on the late Stockhoff’s birthday.
“The bloodhound was the coolest because he can sniff ahead and track a person down,” said John Maldonado, a seventh-grade student from Manchester.
Physical training took up some time on the schedule and appeared an expected regiment. While no one complained about the daily routines, some added drills didn’t sit well with quite a few of the kids.
“The hardest part of the whole program in my opinion was collective punishment,” Aidan Carrattini shared. “Most of the time, when one person messed up, we all had to do pushups.”
Kern credited other members of the county agency for their roles in the program, as well as the Ocean County Public Safety Cadets. Children who age out of the youth academy program become eligible for the cadet unit, which accepts candidates from ages 14-20.
This year, Kern and one of the cadets attended a Leadership Academy in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The two trained with the Army’s Military Police, lived in military barracks and worked with the Army’s drill sergeants.
Ocean County’s Cadets received national recognition last year by achieving first place status in three separate competitions. They also won third place honors in three additional matches with cadets throughout the United States.
