The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office congratulated and welcomed 11 new Sheriff’s Deputies at their graduation from the Allan Hancock College Basic Law Enforcement Academy earlier today. These deputies, along with their seven classmates completed a comprehensive California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), 862-hour course of instruction. The academy instruction included community policing, report writing, laws of arrest, search and seizure, firearms, ethics, investigation procedures, patrol techniques, arrest and control, physical training, CPR/First Aid, and emergency vehicle operations.
Just before the graduation ceremony, Sheriff Bill Brown led a swearing-in ceremony where he welcomed Daniel Abernethy, Oscar Covarrubias, Gregory Dominguez, Elias Gonzalez, Estanislao Gutierrez Jr., David Morrell, Marc Pyle, Jonathan Reyes, Ignacio Rios, Miguel Rodriguez, and Sergio Rodriguez-Gutierrez. This ceremony, which marks a beginning milestone in each deputies’ career, was shared with their close family members and included a badge pinning ceremony where recruits have their badges pinned on their uniforms by a significant person in their lives and included mothers, fathers, and spouses. This shared moment marks the culmination of over six months of hard work by these recruits and unwavering support from family members who supported them.
During the graduation ceremony, recruits in the class were honored with awards recognizing their achievements in specific areas. The Sheriff’s Office wants to congratulate Deputy Estanislao Gutierrez who was honored with the Leigh Horn Memorial Award for Most Improved, Deputy David Morrell for the Doug Odom Firearms Award, Deputy Daniel Abernethy for the Physical Fitness Award and Deputy Elias Gonzalez for the Scenarios Award.If you are interested in career in law enforcement or know someone who is, please visit our website at SBSheriff.org to apply.
