Events
Law Enforcement Graduates Ready to Serve and Protect
RALEIGH, N.C. (May 20, 2025) – Wake Tech is celebrating a new class of dedicated law enforcement officers who are ready to serve and protect communities in Wake County and beyond.
Fifteen highly trained cadets graduated from Wake Tech's rigorous Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy (BLET) program during a special ceremony Tuesday on Southern Wake Campus. The program goes beyond the state-mandated 640 hours of course content, providing 768 hours of training, weekly lectures, evaluations and exams. The cadets are also required to pass the Police Officers Physical Ability Test, a timed series of search and rescue, physical agility and mental alertness drills.
At the ceremony, several cadets were singled out for their accomplishments:
- Reilly Bennet: Award of Excellence for having the highest academic average
- Tanner Duggins: Johnny Blackman Memorial Award (most physically fit)
- David Curtiss: Award of Excellence (highest firearms average)
- Chauncey Hatcher: Best Police Officers Physical Ability Test
Wake Tech Vice President of Workforce Development Anthony Caison thanked the graduates for choosing a career in law enforcement.
"We all feel safer knowing you have gone through Wake Tech's BLET program," said Caison. "Go out and do great things!"
Curtiss, who is the class' sergeant, offered encouragement to his fellow graduates.
"It is an honor to stand as a representative of Wake Tech and the training we received," he said. "All of our learning moments will shape the officers we are about to become. Do the right thing even when no one is watching."
Curtiss is a former collegiate and professional swimmer who competed on the U.S. national team and won a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games. He retired from swimming to pursue a career in law enforcement and will be starting his career as a sworn officer for the town of Cary.
Other graduates have also been hired at local police departments, including Apex, Holly Springs and Chapel Hill.
Chapel Hill Police Capt. Johnnie Britt, a 22-year law enforcement veteran, offered advice to the new officers at the ceremony.
"Don't forget law enforcement is not just a job, it's a calling,” said Britt. "Show up fully in your life both on and off duty. Act justly, walk humbly and know the law – but also have compassion."
Wake Tech was the first community college in North Carolina – and the second in the nation – to earn CALEA® accreditation for its Public Safety Training Academy. CALEA®, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, recognizes best practices and professional excellence in policy and practice.
Wake Tech's Public Safety Education Campus in Raleigh provides training for first responders and other public safety personnel, including law enforcement agencies, the North Carolina Department of Corrections, the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It also offers an associate degree in Criminal Justice Technology.
Wake Tech also offers training at the college's state-of-the-art Public Safety Simulation Complex, at Wake Tech East in Wendell. This facility offers comprehensive reality-based training for first responders from across the county, state and other parts of the country. Wake Tech's EMS program is also offered at the complex.
