Jeremy Garcia, Daniel Reece and Randy Watkins raise their hands as they are sworn in after the Reserve graduation Friday.
RENO — Six Carson City Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputies graduated the academy Friday night in a ceremony at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The ceremony, held in the UNR Joe Crowley Student Union Building, saw seven reserves graduate — six from Carson City and one from the UNRPD.
Reserve deputies are sworn law enforcement officers who are unpaid deputies working with police departments. They are used for a number of jobs such as foot and bike patrol, special event coverage and jail coverage. Each reserve must meet Nevada Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) requirements to become a reserve basic deputy. There are various levels of reserves, ranging from a category one which has all peace officer authority to the reserve basic and can do patrol and other things but must be under constant supervision.
“A lot of people see a Reserves position as a stepping stone to get hired with a department,” said Reserves Supervisor Tom Crawford. “That way they can learn law enforcement, work in law enforcement and most see it as getting a foot in the door for a full paid position.”
The law enforcement agencies surrounding Carson all have their own Reserve program, and this session, Carson City partnered with UNR to combine the academy to save money on instructors and time.
This graduating class started its academy on April 11, and took its last written test and POST certification test. Each Reserve deputy has to complete more than 120 hours of training for their certificate.
At the ceremony, four of the Carson City Reserve deputies received their badges and were sworn in. The other two, Michael Jerauld and Cole Sonnemann, have previously been sworn in and were working at the Carson City Jail currently while they finished their Reserve training. The four Reserves who were sworn in got their badges pinned on by either Carson City Undersheriff Steve Albertson or by loved ones.
The ceremony was brief, with the UNRPD chief Adam Garcia speaking to the class before everyone received their certificates.
“I still believe that this is a noble profession, that you are about to enter into and I am proud of you,” Garcia told the graduates. “Whatever you do from this day forward you will always be a cop, even if you leave tomorrow, you will always have that line.”
“Once a cop, always a cop, it’s like the mob,” Garcia continued. “So let me welcome you to the family. Congratulations.”