Santa Ana Police Department’s success highlights value of pre-academy

By Greg Mellen

If the Santa Ana Police Department needed affirmation of its decision to create a pre-academy for recruits entering the Orange County Sheriff’s Basic Academy, the ceremonies of Academy Class 257 were a rousing validation.

Santa Ana’s newest crop of officers ran the table at the celebration at the Regional Training Academy in Tustin. In a class of 56 graduates from nine agencies, all six Santa Ana officers successfully completed the Academy, considered by many as one of the tougher and more stressful police academies in the country. Not only did the Santa Ana contingent pass, they surpassed.

Consider:

• Five of the six Santa Ana recruits finished in the top 10 in the class.
• Bryan Mercado of Santa Ana was judged the Outstanding Officer in All Areas with an overall score of 96.
• Alexander Sevelos won the top award in Report Writing.
• Jackson Egg was voted by fellow recruits as Honorary Class Sergeant, for developing esprit de corps and unity, and led the class through graduation.

From Black Monday, the spittle-in-the-face, introduction-by-intimidation first day, through 26 weeks of instruction and training, the Santa Ana class excelled. That was thanks in part to the tender mercies of pre-academy instructor Sgt. Daniel Baek, who prepared the candidates for what lay ahead. Santa Ana’s recruits were ready from the jump.

“I think the pre-academy gave them a great foundation and framework,” Santa Ana Acting Chief Robert Rodriguez said shortly after the ceremony. “Obviously that was evident today.”

A growing trend

Pre-academies have become popular as a way to inculcate recruits before they step onto an academy campus with instructors hard in their faces.

However, most pre-academies are short in duration and often voluntary. A pre-academy mentoring program is offered by the OC Sheriff’s Department and designed to familiarize new recruits with the academy program and protocols. That pre-academy consists of 12 to 14 two-hour sessions and is voluntary.

The L.A. Sheriff’s Department offers a Recruit Training Unit before entrance into the academy with physical training as well as an academic orientation. This training too is voluntary and without compensation.

In past years, Santa Ana recruits have attended a pre-academy in Fullerton and Costa Mesa. However, when that became unavailable, Santa Ana decided to create its own pre-academy. In comparison to other programs, the Santa Ana course is a pre-academy on steroids.

"We go all out for shock and awe,” said Baek, a former tactical officer at the O.C. Sheriff’s Academy for three years, who reprised that role in Santa Ana’s inaugural pre-academy.

At Santa Ana, the recruits went through three full 40-hour weeks of drills, inspections, classes, study, and team-building. In a sense it was a mini-version of the full academy.

“It got us as a class to understand what the expectations would be,” Mercado said. “It really got us ready.”

Sevelos, who finished third overall in the class, said having Baek, who intimately knew the training, tactics, strategies, and tricks of academy instructors, was a big help.

“It was huge. He emulated the experience really well,” Sevelos said. “That let us focus (in the actual academy). It was a very good experience.”

The shared experience also gave the Santa Ana recruits a sense of cohesion.

“It brought the six of us together as a team,” Jesus Guzman said.

Officer Daniel Jurado said he could tell the difference in preparation for the Santa Ana six over those who had only taken the pre-academy offered by the OC Sheriff’s Department.

“You could tell the moment the six of us got here, we set ourselves apart,” Jurado said.

“It helped us kind of adjust to the stressful (tactics),” Egg said.

The OC Sheriff’s Academy uses a kind of boot camp structure to put future officers through high-pressure training and exercises to test their ability to perform under stress. The theory is that by exposing them to anxiety in controlled situations, recruits will be better able to handle themselves in the field when they face real-life potentially dangerous encounters. In short, they’ll be better police officers.

“Everything (Baek and the Santa Ana Police Department staff) told us turned out to be true,” Jurado said.

“I remember before we marched out for the first time in the pre-academy how nervous I was,” Guzman said. “After that (in the actual academy) it wasn’t as bad.”

A great launch

According to Baek and Santa Ana Cpl. Moises Jimenez, who oversaw administration of the program, the maiden voyage of the Santa Ana pre-academy fulfilled its goals.

“It’s surprising to see the progress they made in just three weeks,” Jimenez said. “I saw six strangers come together as a team.”

Pre-training of cadets “allows us to focus on education,” Baek said, referring to the Peace Officer Standards on Training (POST), which all recruits must complete prior to graduation.

While the state requires 664 hours of training for a California Law Enforcement Officer, the OC Sheriff’s Academy fulfills additional requirements of Orange County agencies, bringing the total training time to approximately 984 hours.

The decision to bring the pre-academy in-house made sense.

“SAPD is able to design the pre-academy to fit the requirements of our department and the culture of our organization,” said Cmdr. Oscar Lizardi.

Given the standout success of the first class, Santa Ana plans to go full speed ahead with the pre-academy — not just in-house.

“The idea is to try to grow and, as we continue to have success, offer it to the neighboring agencies,” Rodriguez said.

Santa Ana Police Department’s newest officers are:

• Bryan Cadena - A Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps where he was a cannoneer. His future goal is to work on SAPD’s Gang Unit.
• Jackson Egg - A former Marine Corporal, he attended Santa Ana College. His future goals are to work with the Special Victims Detail and SWAT.
• Bryan Mercado - Graded by staff as Outstanding Officer in All Areas. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from USC. His future goals are to be on SWAT and a special enforcement team.
• Jesus Guzman - A graduate of Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. His future goals are to work in the Gang Unit and as a Narcotics Officer.
• Daniel Jurado - Has a Master’s Degree in Organization Leadership. He would like to work as a K9 Handler and a Narcotics Officer.
• Alexander Sevelos - The top finisher in the class in Report Writing, he has a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from San Jose State University. A former SAPD Corrections Officer, he would like to work as a Narcotics Officer and in the Gang Unit.

For more photos from the graduation ceremony, visit www.behindthebadge.com.