Five Tennessee Law Enforcement Officers Graduate From the FBI National Academy

The FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, graduated 238 law enforcement officers, including five from Tennessee:

• Deputy Chief Michael Mullins, Mount Juliet Police Department
• Lieutenant Vikki Shabazz, Memphis Police Department
• Lieutenant Amber Webb, Memphis Police Department
• Lieutenant Nicholas Reece, Jonesborough Police Department
• Special Agent Phillip Carney, Tennessee Department of Revenue

The FBI Memphis Field Office and the FBI Knoxville Field Office congratulate the five members of the law enforcement community in Tennessee for completing this comprehensive training.

These officers were among the men and women from 47 states and the District of Columbia who completed the 10 weeks of training and became the 286th class to graduate. The class also included members of law enforcement agencies from 25 countries, five military organizations, and six federal civilian organizations.

The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers nominated by their agency heads because of demonstrated leadership qualities. The 10-week program—which provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science—serves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge, and cooperation worldwide.

A total of 54,366 graduates have completed the FBI National Academy since it began in 1935. The National Academy is held at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, the same facility where the FBI trains its new special agents and intelligence analysts.

Buffalo Sector Border Patrol Agent Graduates From FBI National Academy Program

Grand Island, N.Y. – Buffalo Sector Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Lawrence J. Jay graduated on June 8, along with 263 law enforcement officers, from the FBI National Academy Program at Quantico, Va. The 249th Session of the National Academy consisted of men and women from 48 states, Washington D.C., and 24 countries. 

Internationally known for its academic excellence, the National Academy Program, at the FBI Academy, provides selected officers the opportunity to support, promote, and enhance their personal and professional development within their agencies.

While there, Agent Jay participated in 10 weeks of advanced investigative, management, and physical fitness training provided by FBI instructional staff and special agents, many of whom are recognized internationally in their fields of expertise.

Attending the academy along with Agent Jay were officers from five other local law enforcement agencies including the Brighton, Niagara Falls, and Rochester Police Departments, and the Ontario Provincial Police.

Today, Agent Jay, along with his five local classmates, attended the concluding academy event, an “In/Out” luncheon hosted by the FBI Executive Team at the FBI building in Buffalo. The annual luncheon serves as a forum for recent graduates to speak on their knowledge and experiences gained from attending the academy. The graduates were also provided the opportunity to meet with and brief the local candidates selected to attend the 250th Session.

“The FBI National Academy is a platform that promotes life-long learning and fosters an environment of networking among a vast array of domestic and foreign law enforcement entities at the federal, state, and local levels,” said Agent Jay. “For example, when a cross-border event transpires, I can seamlessly reach out to a colleague and collaborate with that official in order to obtain the necessary assistance to effectively deal with the matter at hand.”

Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens can report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol and remain anonymous by calling (800) 331-0353 toll free.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Six South Florida Law Enforcement Officers Graduate FBI National Academy

MIAMI—John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami Division, announces the graduation of six South Florida law enforcement officers from the FBI National Academy today at a ceremony held in Quantico, Virginia.

The officers are:

■Lieutenant Kathleen Ream-Fisher, Key West Police Department

■Captain Nancy Grimes, Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office

■Major Mark Jeter, Miami-Dade Police Department

■Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Breeden, Florida Department of Law Enforcement

■Sergeant Jack Vaccaro, Lighthouse Point Police Department

■Chief Thomas Nagy, Hillsboro Beach Police Department

As FBI National Academy graduates, these officers enter into a select group made up of less than one percent of the country’s law enforcement officers. They were hand-picked by their departments and, along with about 250 other officers, completed the 10-week course, which began on April 12 at the FBI training facility in Quantico, Virginia. The course included instruction in law, behavioral science, forensic science, understanding terrorism/terrorist mindsets, leadership development, communication, and health/fitness.

The FBI National Academy is dedicated to the improvement of law enforcement standards and has long been a benchmark for professional continuing education. Participants are drawn from every state in the union, from U.S. territories, and from over 150 partner nations. Police officers who attend the Academy return to their communities better prepared to meet criminal challenges.

The overall goal of the Academy is to support, promote, and enhance the personal and professional development of law enforcement leaders by preparing them for complex, dynamic, and contemporary challenges through innovative techniques, facilitating excellence in education and research, and forging partnerships throughout the world.

The academy was created in 1935 with 23 students in the first class. It has grown over the years to the current enrollment of over 1,000 students a year. The FBI National Academy is one of the premier law enforcement academies in the world.