ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Six months of training finally paid off for the newest graduates of the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy.
Family, friends, and colleagues gathered on Thursday night at the Maritz Theatre to celebrate class 209. The new officers were sworn in with a raise of their right hands and the ceremony began.
Officer Colin Reed addressed his class before the issuance of diplomas and special achievement awards were distributed. These class honors included best overall officer, highest scholastic average, top firearms, top physical training, and top defensive tactics.
The best overall officer was awarded a $1000 gift certificate in honor of fallen North County Police Cooperative Officer Michael Langsdorf, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty on June 2.
langsdorf’s family presented the award onstage and said it felt good to continue supporting the next generation of law enforcement.
Caleb Langsdorf of the Langsdorf Scholarship Foundation and son of Officer Michael Langsdorf said, “My dad was a police officer so being able to give back to that is what we’re trying to do. a lot of these guys are going to come out and they’re going to have to have these expensive equipment purchases so we would like to help towards that.”
Class 209 supervisor Eric sterr commented, “The Langsdorf Foundation—their family—has been helping out the academy for several years now, donating great equipment for our continued training and they’re a vital tool in the future of our recruits at the academy, getting their top-notch equipment to keep the training going.”
Josh Crawford received the best overall recruit award and was honored with the check and plaque on stage.
He told Fox 2, “It’s an honor to receive that gift from them. Law enforcement is a big family; everyone has each other’s back; it’s a tight-knit community, so the fact they’re still able to be a part of that, yeah, it’s great.”
Attendees weren’t shy about their pride for the graduates, with a loud arruption of applause and standing ovations at the closing of the ceremony. The academy staff and department employees were also over the moon about their new officers.
“Every week is a tough week, but they’ve done an excellent job and I think they’re ready to get out there and get going.” Captain Steven Tucker of the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy
Vera Clay from the St. Louis Police Department also stated, “We are extremely proud of all 21 graduates of the class, including the 11 that will be coming to the St. Louis County Police Department.”
Of those 11, 10 are men and one is a woman. Class 210 is set to start their training this Monday, June 24 for the next 25 weeks.
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