Twelve brand-new Santa Barbara County sheriff’s custody deputies graduated this week from an intensive training program teaching them the skills needed to work as corrections officers. It was the department’s second graduating class.
The new deputies are Tory Scott Aguilar, Eric Alexander, Gabriel Alvarez, Selim Celmeta, Ruben A. Deleon, Kathy C.B. Gardner, Bryan Taylor Green, John Patrick Lane, Samuel Mlyniec, Guillermo Ramirez, Christopher D. Weddle and Nicolas C. Wigle. Sheriff Bill Brown presided over the ceremony at Goleta Valley Church.
Custody deputies are required to complete a 408-hour training course within their first year of employment. Led by the department’s Training Bureau, the program provides the officers with the skills they need to manage the County Jail population, subdue violent inmates and transport prisoners.
Previously, custody personnel were required to complete a 240-hour training course within their first year.