Driving at top speeds, firing pistols and exercising various defense tactics aren’t usually associated with life at City Hall. Last weekend, however, seven City Council members did them all.
Florida Community College at Jacksonville’s School of Criminal Justice hosted Council members Kevin Hyde, Glorious Johnson, Mia Jones, Art Graham, Jerry Holland and Art Shad for a day’s worth of police training.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Holland. “After going through the training I think I have a much better appreciation for what our police officers go through.
“I think it’s definitely a lot harder than it looks.”
At the academy for just over five hours, Holland and Shad said they would have welcomed the opportunity to train longer.
“I could have spent all day just on the driving course,” said Shad. “It really was a lot of fun even though I don’t think many of us improved all that much. Officers train for 11 months.”
“But getting a good look at the facility and observing the quality of the trainers was well worth the trip. I would do it again.”