Event held on Nov. 14
Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman this week announced the members of the inaugural graduation class of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Training Academy.
On Nov. 14, family members, friends, and agency members gathered at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters on Cattleridge Boulevard in Sarasota “to celebrate the seven newest recruits of the Courts and Corrections Division following their 13-week, 420-hour academy class,” a news release says. “The recruits were trained in physical fitness, firearms, defensive tactics, first aid,” legal issues, officer safety, and correctional supervision, “as well as emergency response and communications, the release adds. They also were able to become familiar with the agency’s facility and equipment,” the release notes.
Agency personnel worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission to make the Corrections Training Academy a facet of the Sheriff’s Office, the release points out. The Sheriff’s Office had to ensure compliance and training parameters were met before coursework could begin, “but it was worth it in the long run, as we are able to best prepare recruits specifically for the values and expectations of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office,” said Capt. Jeffrey Vajdik in the release. He serves as the academy director.
“We’re grateful to Sheriff Hoffman and the command staff for championing the vision to host our own correctional training academy and to the correctional training staff for managing the daily operations of this inaugural class … with many more to come,” Major Brian Meinberg of the Courts and Corrections Division added in the release.
“I’m proud of this accomplishment,” Sheriff Hoffman said in the release, “not only for our ability to host this academy, but for the dedication and effort of both the recruits and their training staff.”
The seven graduates were class President & Corrections Deputy Leonardo Ramirez, class Vice President & Corrections Deputy Nicholas Scott, Corrections Deputy Ariel Furtak, Corrections Deputy Andrew Jack, Corrections Deputy Jared Johnson, Corrections Deputy Cody Ogden, and Corrections Deputy Scott Sichling.
“Following their graduation, the corrections deputies will be assigned to the corrections bureaus where they will continue their training,” the release points out.