The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to officially welcome 10 new sheriff’s deputies to its team.
The morning of June 9, 2016, at a traditional ceremony before a room of dignitaries, family and friends, 21 recruits graduated from the prestigious Allan Hancock Law Enforcement College Academy in Lompoc.
Of those graduates, Jesus Gutierrez, Margaret Kunigonis, Andrew Long, Matthew Maxwell, Charlene Peterson, Gregory Plett, Michael Rodriguez Jr., Theo Sullivan, Derek Taylor and Eddie Vega were hired by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The graduates range in age from 21 to 44 years of age.
They come from all walks of life including several with prior law enforcement experience in probation or corrections, some have prior military experience, some are business professionals, and others are college students. The class also includes three Division 1 athletes.
In order to make it to graduation day, the recruits endured 843 hours of training over the past five months. The instruction included laws of arrest, criminal investigations, firearms, emergency vehicle operation, chemical agents, scenarios, report writing and numerous written exams.
The training hours do not include the many additional hours they spent at night studying and preparing for tests and application of the instruction.
Sheriff’s Senior Deputy and Senior Recruit Training Officer J. Langehennig said that the group was outstanding and expressed his pride in their achievements.
“This class came together quickly and showed their dedication and determination early on,” he said. “They were motivated, disciplined and had great integrity. They have shown they are willing to sacrifice in order to protect and serve the public. It has been my pleasure to watch them grow and to have been a part of their first steps in a long career of public service.”
The Sheriff’s Office congratulates Andrew Long for receiving the Leadership and Scenario awards for his class and Gregory Plett for receiving the Academic Achievement and Report Writing awards.
It also wishes to congratulate Eddie Vega for receiving the Physical Fitness award.
The new Sheriff’s deputies were sworn in Sheriff Bill Brown prior to the ceremony and received their new badges. They have two more weeks of in-house training followed by a period of field training.
The rest of the graduating class included recruits hired by the Paso Robles Police Department, Pismo Beach Police Department, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and UCSB Police Department.
— Kelly Hoover is the public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
