COLUMN: About the ECSO Training Division

Submitted photo.

Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown.

One of the services your Sheriff’s Office has worked hard to build up and expand is its Training Division, which keeps our deputies’ training current and also allows us to offer courses to other agencies.

Our Training Division holds one of the highest levels of training agreements with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which allows us to teach a wide range of classes in law enforcement, from core classes on up to specialized certificate courses. The only exception is three classes that TCOLE restricts to being taught by college police academies.

Our Training Division has provided training for personnel from every agency in Ellis County and hosted other members of law enforcement from across Texas at our state of the art training facility, which is housed in the Law Enforcement Center on Farm-to-Market 878.

We offer training year-round and many of the courses are offered multiple times to ensure our deputies and other officers can meet their continuing education requirements of 40 hours of classwork every two years. Almost all of our courses are free of charge unless there’s a specialized instructor or equipment cost.

A number of our courses are offered in partnership with other agencies, like the Red Oak and Dallas Police departments, with whom we annually co-host a TCOLE-approved mental health officer certificate training that provides 40 hours of classroom and scenario experience for participants. We’ve also teamed up with the creator of the TCOLE-approved, 40-hour courthouse security specialist certificate program and offer that training on an annual basis. Our partnership with TEEX has allowed us to save considerable money on training our new detention officers. We recently hosted our first SWAT training course in cooperation with the Ennis Police Department and we plan to make that an annual or bi-annual offering.

Our Training Division’s mission is to instill the highest level of professionalism and continuing education to all sworn peace officers and detention officers within the county. Through this higher standard, we’re ensuring that you, the citizens of Ellis County, are getting the best.

Please, everyone, let’s keep our military and service personnel in our thoughts and prayers. We enjoy our rights and freedoms because of their service and safekeeping of our great nation. Y’all have a Blessed Week.

Johnny Brown has served as Sheriff of Ellis County since Jan. 1, 2009, and is a graduate of the National Sheriff’s Institute. He has been in law enforcement for more than 20 years and holds a Master’s Peace Officer’s Certificate with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.