On Thursday, October 28, 2021, the Criminal Justice program at Fairfield Career Center received a generous gift from the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office that will help improve how students learn in their instructional lab.
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office donated a retired police cruiser to the Criminal Justice high school program at Fairfield Career Center (FCC). The vehicle, a 2012 Dodge Charger, will be used as a part of the instructional training that students receive as part of their curriculum. While decals have been removed, the cruiser remains fully equipped with front and rear light bars, public address system, roll cage, and additional accessories that will allow students to learn and engage their instruction in meaningful ways.
Fairfield County Sheriff Alex Lape and two deputies made the trip to officially hand off the keys to Criminal Justice instructor Mr. William Moore and his students on the morning of October 28. Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools Superintendent and CEO Dr. Kimberly Pietsch Miller and members of the Fairfield Career Center administrative team were also on hand to celebrate the occasion and thank the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office for its generosity and continued partnership. Students from the junior class received the keys and then enthusiastically tested all of the cruiser’s features and accessories.
“It seems like the right thing to do to continue with our partnership not only here at the [Fairfield] Career Center but also with the adult education department,” said Fairfield County Sheriff Alex Lape. “It’s different to verbally try to describe and explain things without having the appropriate tools to do the hands-on training, so it is really important for the students to have this tool.”
The addition of the retired police cruiser serves as a major upgrade to the current vehicle being used in the FCC Criminal Justice program. Mr. Moore stated that this gift will greatly improve the quality of the experience received in his students’ instruction and career progression. Moore explained that the vehicle will be used to train students in tactics such as vehicle stops and approaches, officer violator contacts, emergency vehicle operations, and building searches.
“This is something that we can be proud of as a school and that the students can be proud of,” said Moore. “We’ve been in partnership with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office for as long as I can remember and they are constantly here to support us from a training aspect and from a business partner aspect, and this gift supports that.”
Dalton Brubaker-Lawhun, a junior from Amanda-Clearcreek High School that was serving as class lieutenant at the time of the donation, said, “I am really excited that we are going to be able to work with this. It will give us a new perspective on what being a police officer means and how we will be able to use this to better our career and practices.”
Thank you to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office for their continued support of Fairfield Career Center, Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools, and our students’ educational opportunities.
If you would like more information about Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools or the Criminal Justice program, please visit www.EastlandFairfield.com.
