SIGHTS SET ON THE FORCE
SFPD gives six cadets glimpse of life in law enforcement with rigorous pre-academy training
Amother of five with the time to now pursue her dream. A former corrections officer and martial arts enthusiast. A 22-year-old woman, already in the military, with even more to prove.
All part of a small, select group hoping to hit the streets next year as Santa Fe police officers.
“I’ve always wanted to be part of something bigger than myself,” said Sarah Priemazon, explaining her decision to take the first step toward a career in law enforcement.
Priemazon, 28, who lives in Rio Rancho, said she considered joining the military when she was younger but decided
to raise a family instead. Now, with a husband who just retired from the Albuquerque Police Department, the mother of five said it’s her turn to protect and serve.
Priemazon and five others — the newest members of the Santa Fe Police Department’s pre-academy program — watched from the bleachers at Santa Fe Indian School last week as the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy graduated and swore in 45 new officers, including 10 from the Santa Fe Police Department.
Many in the group said afterward that they were looking forward to their turn on center stage.
“It’s a good look for things to come,” said 28-year-old Donald Lindsey, who is part of Priemazon’s class. “I’m pretty excited.”
Santa Fe’s pre-academy, like other police departments that have the resources, is designed to give potential new officers a head start on training so that by the time they enter the academy, they will be more prepared and likely to complete the program.
It’s a key process for a department that faces long-term staffing challenges.
Santa Fe recently has struggled to fill vacancies created by retirements and transfers to higher-paying law enforcement agencies. As of this month, the department, which is budgeted for 177 sworn positions, had 28 vacancies, Padilla said.
“It doesn’t matter if we send five, 10, 15 to the Law Enforcement Academy; every
position is so important to us,” Padilla said. The department works hard to prepare new officers, he added, which also allows it to promote and fill more senior positions, such as detectives.
“When we get them out, we definitely want them to succeed,” Padilla said. “This is a career, not just a job.”
In the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, the department’s number of sworn positions will drop to 173 as the department converts four positions to unsworn public safety aides, Padilla said.
The process of getting through the pre-academy isn’t easy. Candidates must pass a test, background check, and physical and psychological evaluations. The pre-academy then focuses on teaching police department policies, rigorous physical training, firearms training, report writing, and training with SWAT and explosive ordnance teams. Candidates have even been joined by police Chief Andrew Padilla for early morning runs.
Interviews with the candidates reveal each has unique interests and backgrounds — but all targeted Santa Fe because they feel this area, as well as the department, offers something unique.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid,” said 29-year-old Alan Scott, who grew up in Albuquerque and lives in Rio Rancho. Scott is a former EMT with family and friends in law enforcement. “So I figured this was where I probably needed to be,” he said. But why Santa Fe? “The culture, the heritage behind it,” said Scott, who looks forward to a future as a detective or medic on the SWAT team. “It’s a beautiful city.”
Lindsey’s path was different. A former corrections officer in Las Cruces and a mixed martial arts aficionado who trains in jiujitsu and studied sociology at New Mexico State University, he thought he was going to apply to the Albuquerque Police Department until he met a recruiting officer from Santa Fe police at a job fair.
“She was very distinguished from the other departments,” Lindsey said. “She asked me what my career goals were. I told her, and she was like, ‘OK.’ Basically, she gave me the belief that I can achieve all those things very quickly.”
Lindsey would like to be a defensive tactics instructor at the police academy, then perhaps join a specialized unit. He, too, comes from a law enforcement family, and he recalled old photos of his uncle, a retired traffic division officer, and his cousin, a SWAT team officer.
“Just looking at them in uniform, they looked very straightforward … clean-cut guys, and they love their job,” he said.
Not every cadet who begins the pre-academy will end up on the force. From start to finish through the process, the department typically has about a 65 percent graduation rate, said training administrator Janelle Martinez.
Some cadets fail to meet program standards, suffer injuries or stop because of family commitments. Others realize law enforcement isn’t for them.
Lindsey, who said his training to become a corrections officer was similar to the pre-academy training, appears up to the task. He seemed pleasantly surprised that his pre-academy training already had included training drills with the SWAT team in an abandoned building.
“The instructor just told us, ‘resist’ or ‘comply’ or ‘hide in this closet,’ and ‘if the [police] robot comes out, do what it tells you to do,’ ” he said, grinning. “Really interesting, actually. It was kind of scary, actually, too.”
Dominique Romero, 22, said she was drawn to the Santa Fe department’s reputation. She grew up in Bernalillo and lives in Rio Rancho.
“It seems to be more family-oriented, and everybody has each others’ back and everybody’s just friendly,” she said.
Romero may be diminutive in stature, but the Army National Guard officer and now police recruit is ready to take on anyone’s doubts.
“I knew what I was signing up for when I raised my right hand,” Romero said. “I guess the only thing challenging for me personally is, obviously, I’m a small female, so other people think I’m not capable of things. But I can prove that I’m capable.”
Romero looks forward to being a patrol officer and then hopes to do DWI enforcement.
“Obviously, it kills people a lot, especially innocent families,” she said of New Mexico’s drunkendriving problem. “It’s not right, so I want to be the one to stop them.”
Loretta Easterling, who acknowledged being the oldest in the group but wouldn’t reveal her age, grew up in Roswell and lives in Edgewood. She said she looks forward to starting in patrol and then maybe moving on to the DWI or training divisions.
“I want to be out in the community,” she said. “All of my interactions with police have always been positive, thankfully. Just seeing what they’ve done and the impact that they can make, I want to make a good impact.”
Carlos Camacho, 21 and the youngest of the six cadets, recently moved with his father to Santa Fe from El Paso.
Camacho knew he wanted to join the department before he moved to the city. His formative experience: a simple encounter with a helpful cop. He said a female police officer once stopped to help him when his car stalled.
“That’s when I decided I wanted to do this, help people out,” he said.
Lt. Sean Strahon, who heads SFPD’s training division, said this small group is notable for its work ethic.
“There is a marked difference in this group that I’ve seen than in some of the others,” he said. “They’re very focused and they listen. I think this group is going to do very well in the academy.”
The cadets will report to the academy in July for 16 weeks, followed by a short post-academy program and then 14 weeks of field training.
On Wednesday, as the police academy graduates were cheered on by family and friends, and congratulated by Padilla and Mayor Alan Webber, the six candidates — Santa Fe’s next generation of cops — were able to get a taste of what is to come, as well as a vote of confidence from the chief.
“I told them: ‘This will be you,’ ” Padilla said.