SAVANNAH — The second cohort of Savannah Technical College Peace Officer Academy students will graduate today at 11 a.m. in the Eckburg Auditorium on the Savannah Campus.

Eighteen graduates will be participating in the completion ceremony, including Matthew Russell of Springfield.

As a program, it was decided that each cohort will select a fallen officer for whom the graduating class will be named. This cohort selected Tybee Island Police Department Lt. Clyde Wilson “Trey” Alley, killed in the line of duty April 12, 1999. Graduating students will award commemorative coins cast in Lieutenant Alley’s honor to the Alley family, the Tybee Island Police Department and Lieutenant Alley’s partner, Mike Hogan.

Savannah Technical College is one of six colleges in the state offering this program of study. The program is an 18-week Technical Certificate of Credit in Basic Law Enforcement that provides training for those seeking certification through the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST). 

Students are selected through a competitive application process including a criminal background check and medical exam as well as meeting minimum scores on the College’s placement exam.

Eighteen students completed the first cohort of the Peace Officer Academy in May of this year.