News Releases

31 Students to Graduate From Owens Basic Peace Officer Training Academies, April 18

PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Thirty-one students will be recognized as Ohio Basic Peace Officer Training Academy graduates at Owens Community College on Wednesday, April 18.

The special ceremonies will occur at 7 p.m. in the College’s Center for Fine and Performing Arts Mainstage Theatre on the Toledo-area Campus. Owens is located on Oregon Road in Perrysburg Township. The College’s Basic Peace Officer Training Academy graduation is open to the public.

“Owens Community College is proud to continue its collaboration with the Ohio Peace Officers Training Commission and recognize these 31 individuals for their educational accomplishment,” said Robert Albright, Owens Academic Program Chair of Criminal Justice and Emergency Management. “Our nation would not experience freedom and safety as we know it without each graduate’s decision to pursue a career in public service.”

Founded in 1970, the Basic Peace Officer Training Academy is offered in cooperation with the Ohio Peace Officers Training Commission. As part of the seven-month program, Owens police academy students take courses in patrol operations, firearms, defensive tactics and criminal investigation using modern, high-tech police equipment. Participants receive expert instruction from local police officers, sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers, as well as state and federal agents.

Following successful completion of the College’s Basic Peace Officer Training Academy, Owens graduates become eligible for certification as an Ohio peace officer. In addition, coursework earned by police academy graduates will apply toward an associate degree at Owens in law enforcement.

Local law enforcement agencies where Owens graduates have been employed include the Findlay Police Department, Fostoria Police Department, Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Lucas County Sheriff’s Department, Maumee Police Department, Northwood Police Department, Perrysburg City Police Department, Perrysburg Township Police Department, Sylvania City Police Department, Sylvania Township Police Department, Toledo Police Department and the Wood County Sheriff’s Department.

The following students have completed the required number of law enforcement contact hours set forth by the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Peace Officers Training Commission.

Toledo-area Campus Basic Peace Officer Day Academy:
Patriann Booth of Toledo
Christopher Buck of Woodville
Michael Cropcho of Perrysburg
Melissa Edwards of Toledo
Jeffrey Goetz Jr. of Toledo
Daniel Griffith of Genoa
Kevin Howard Jr. of Oregon
Bobbie-Jo Newman of Waterville
Dominic Pepitone of Toledo
Josh Reindel of Oregon
Nicholas Schumaker of Maumee
Crystal Spain of Toledo
Jacob Strayer of Toledo
John Vanhersett of Oregon
Adam Waggoner of Waterville

Toledo-area Campus Basic Peace Officer Night Academy:
Andrew Blair of Temperance, Mich.
Travis Brewer of Rossford
William Cook of Toledo        (sponsored by Mercy Health Partners Public Safety Department)
David Dunn of Toledo
John Eggleston of Bowling Green
Paul Emerick of Northwood
James Higgins of Toledo        (sponsored by Mercy Health Partners Public Safety Department)
Jared Hornyak of Oregon
Michael Meyers of Sylvania
Nicholas Owens of Lambertville, Mich.
Michael Pekan of Temperance, Mich.
Charles Sims of Toledo        (sponsored by Mercy Health Partners Public Safety Department)
Anthony Szymczak of Toledo    (sponsored by Woodville Police Department)
Christopher Timm of Swanton    (sponsored by Pemberville Police Department)
Verl Warnimont of Findlay
Shaun Wittmer of Whitehouse    (sponsored by Pioneer Police Department)

Owens Community College is an accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education that has served Northwest Ohio since 1965. With a commitment to providing small classes, personal attention and unmatched affordability, the College serves the diverse academic needs of credit and non-credit students on the Toledo-area and Findlay-area campuses, as well as at the Arrowhead Park Learning Center in Maumee and the Learning Center at The Source in downtown Toledo. Owens offers associate degrees that transfer to baccalaureate degrees in the Arts and Sciences and over 130 technical program areas in Agriculture, Business, Health Sciences, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Skilled Trades, and Engineering and Transportation Technologies. Owens students also can earn the first two years of a bachelor’s degree with a smooth transfer to any area four-year college or university. For more information, visit www.owens.edu.