Fulfilling a lifelong need to help
Chief sees cadet program as a path to help diversify Albany’s police force
Growing up, Jomeer Mcneal spent hours watching police shows like “Walker, Texas Ranger” with his grandmother, who he called Nanny.
It also made him decide at the age of 12 he wanted to become a police officer.
“I would be fascinated with the lights and with them helping people,” he said.
Mcneal, 23, is one of four city residents hired to join a new police cadet program in the city designed to be a recruitment pipeline for those who might have difficulty going the traditional route through the city ’s training academy — but otherwise could bring an important perspective and diversity to the force. All four current cadets participants are Black, three men and one woman.
In an interview, the four acknowledged that the current political climate
can make it tough to be a police officer. And some heard from friends or coworkers who questioned their decision. But all of them said that they still saw a career as a police officer as a way to help
their community and make a difference.
Chief Eric Hawkins, who participated in a similar program before he became a
police officer in Southfield, Michigan, believes the program can play a key part of the department’s efforts to recruit more women and people of color. Roughly 13 percent of the department is Black, compared to 30 percent of the city ’s population.
“It provided me with a unique and up-close look at what ultimately would become my lifelong profession,” he said when the program was first announced earlier this year.
Shamara Haggray, 30, is the oldest of the four cadets. She previously applied to be an Albany police officer but struggled with the physical exam and became an Albany County corrections officer instead. Her goal is still to a police officer, to be a face residents can recognize and rely on in the city she grew up in.
“I want to be a cop because I want to be able to improve the community that I live in,” she said. “I want to improve people’s outlook, the relationship between the community and the police.”
The four cadets were chosen from a pool of 155 applicants. Once they begin, they ’ll work 12 hours a week — on top of their existing jobs or schooling. Over the next six months they ’ll be introduced to various parts of the department and assist officers with some tasks.
The city is funding the program through a Community Development Block Grant.
The program does not guarantee them a spot in the city ’s police academy. They’ll still have to pass a civil service exam, physical exam and background check before being considered for a full-time position. But they see it as a stepping stone.
Growing up, Theotis Johnson, 21, saw family members deal with the traumatic impacts of domestic violence. When he was still in middle school, he made a decision that he wanted to work toward putting abusers in prison and protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.
Each of them said that if they became police officers, they hoped they could spend some of their careers either as school resource officers or in the neighborhood engagement unit.
Shadrack Nsengiyumva, 19, joined the Police Explorer program two years ago. An immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he moved from city to city across the United States and struggled at times in school.
When he first came to Albany, he didn’t like police officers. Not for any one reason but because friends told him he shouldn’t. Another friend convinced him to join the explorers program and the work he did there changed his world view. Working with homeless individuals and those who needed food in particular stuck with him, he said.
As a school resource officer, he believes he could make a difference in the lives of students who might be struggling as a shoulder to lean on or a person to confide in.
“I used to move a lot; I had a hard time in school. A lot of kids go through that, so I already know how hard it is to go through that,” he said.