Willow Grove Resident Among 32 Montco Police Cadets To Graduate

NORRISTOWN, PA —Thirty-two cadets are ready to join police departments around the region as they graduated from Montgomery County Community College’s Municipal Police Academy on Wednesday July 20, the school announced.

Montgomery County Commissioner Vice Chair Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and District Justice Paul N. Leo served as guest speaker during a ceremony held at the College’s Science Center Theater in Blue Bell.

“I feel secure when I see these young men and women,” Leo said. “You’ve heard of the television show, ‘America’s Got Talent,” – well, Montgomery County has talent right here."

That talent evident with the GPA averages of the classes’ top students, David Schuettler, valedictorian of the Class of 1503, and Lamont Pinson, valedictorian of the Class of 1601.

“We were challenged and pushed beyond our comfort zones, but we also came together as a team. We completed the Academy successfully together,” Schuettler, who had a GPA of 97.3, told his fellow cadets.

Pinson, who had a GPA of 96, described the instructors as “humble and honest,” as they shared their knowledge and experience with the cadets, the school said.

The James R. Miller Marksmanship Awards were presented Staff Sergeant Andrew Miller (1503) and to John Jennings III (1601). Meanwhile, the Awards of Distinction to Gregory Schimpf (1503) and Steven Cox (1601); and the Leadership Awards to SSgt. Matthew Allen and SSgt. Lamont Pinson.

During the ceremony, Towamencin Township Chief of Police Tim Dickinson, Montgomery County Detective Jean Morrison and Anita Santry (sister of Chief John J. McGowan) presented the Chief John J. McGowan III Memorial Scholarship to Sgt. James Towhey and Charles Pritchett. Pritchett is the son of the late Academy Deputy Director Charles Pritchett, who was a full-time police officer and part-time instructor at the Academy, the school said.

Class of 1503 graduates are: Matthew Allen, Croydon; Sean Camburn, Lansdale; Matthew Dean, Gilbertsville; Matthew Liebman, Cheltenham; Anthony Lombardo, Bensalem; Andrew Miller, Harleysville; Joseph O’Keefe, Downingtown; Greg Schimpf, Worcester; David Schuettler, King of Prussia; Catherine Schultz, Wyomissing; and James Towhey, Perkasie.

Class of 1601 graduates are: Andrew Cheezum, Prospect Park; Nicholas Ciambrello, Newtown; Anthony Corona, Limerick; Steven Cox, Limerick; Justyn Forrest, Shawnee; Peter Gardner, West Chester; Alan Huang, Philadelphia; John Jennings, Abington; Dallas Krum, Bensalem; Collin Leaper, Levittown; Michael Marshall, Emmaus; Robert McKain, Feasterville; Alyssa Monte, Willow Grove; Ryan Murphy, Audubon; Alexis Nagel, Horsham; Jason Nickerson, Pottstown; Austin Pecharo, Limerick; Lamont Pinson, Oceanside, CA; Chad Pritchett, Berwyn; Cullen Rota, Norristown; and Scott Werner, Doylestown.

Montgomery County Community College's 800 hour curriculum for cadets takes place at the Municipal Police Academy at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Campus in Conshohocken.

Photo by Sandi Yanisko.