Pounding the pavement for those who have fallen

After going through conditioning, getting hit with pepper spray and being tazed, a five-mile run didn't scare the 21 cadets of the Western Nevada Peace Officer Academy.

The cadets started their day at 7:15 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Western Nevada Community College. Their goal was to run, in formation, from the campus to the Nevada Peace Officer's Memorial at the Capitol and back.

The Pride Run is an annual event to show respect and raise awareness for fallen officers.

"I've done the run from Las Vegas to the memorial and worked with the Carson City Sheriff's Office," said Jorge Pierrott, program instructor. "The Pride Run is a good way to show respect for those officers who have fallen."

The cadets ran from the parking lot of the college east to Ormsby Boulevard, turned south to Winnie Lane and then east to North Carson Street to the Capitol.

"I've been to the memorial before, and it's an eye-opener to cadets about what's involved with the brotherhood of officers," said M.J. Duncan, cadet class leader.

The cadets are set to graduate from the 30-week program in early August and join that brotherhood. Their final scenario testing begins next week.

The academy encompasses all the classes required by the Peace Officers Standards and Training committee to become certified as a peace officer.

For the 37-year-old Duncan, working in law enforcement is something he has wanted to do for some time.

"I've always worked in investigation and been around (peace officers) my whole career. Now I want to experience the other side," Duncan said.

It took the cadets about 30 minutes to arrive at the memorial, where Sheriff Kenny Furlong spoke about their future in law enforcement.

"The run you do today is nothing in comparison to the challenges you will face," Furlong said. "All of you have the capability to have a long career in law enforcement because you made it to where you are."

Furlong also told the cadets they were the future of law enforcement and would be the officers "filling the streets and the detention centers."

Pierrott said that in addition to the exercise, the Pride Run helps foster teamwork and cooperation within the cadets. Cadet Julie Redmond agreed.

"The running wasn't so bad, I actually enjoyed that," she said. "The hard part was watching the guys fall behind. You want to help them, keep them going. That's where the teamwork comes in."

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.