The Kerrville Police Department honored the 14th Citizen Police Academy graduating class with a special ceremony on Tuesday, May 6th at 6 p.m. at Rails - A Café at the Depot restaurant. The ceremony honored 23 community members who participated in the program.

The Citizen Police Academy is designed to give the public a working knowledge of the Kerrville Police Department through comprehensive classroom instruction, demonstration, tours, and hands-on activities.

Program Coordinators, Officer Paul Gonzales and Sgt. Chuck Bocock, Chief John M. Young Jr., Lieutenants Phil Engstrom and Mary Krebs, and City Manager Todd Parton congratulated the graduates, their friends and family. Each graduate received a certificate of completion along with a class photograph.

"Congratulations, I thank each of you for taking the time to participate in the Citizen Police Academy and for becoming a vital part of the police department and community!" said Police Chief John M. Young Jr., as he addressed the graduating class.

"We came here to learn about our police department and, as a result, we have gained a better understanding of how the community, this agency (KPD) serves, can now serve it. As graduates, we are now an extension of the Kerrville Police Department – providing extra eyes and ears for our officers, standing ready to respond to their needs, volunteering wherever and whenever called upon to do so, and being a positive public purveyor of support for what our officers do. We are also grateful to Chief Young for recognizing the importance of this program to the City of Kerrville and its support of the Kerrville Police Department, and for being such an essential part of its success.” said Citizen Police Academy graduate and Class President Clark Williamson.

The next Citizen Police Academy starts August 2014, but space is limited and fills up quickly. Find out more about the academy and how to sign up at: www.kerrvilletx.gov/police