Troy’s annual Citizen Police Academy graduation

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The City of Troy’s 10-week Citizens Police Academy was created in an effort to help create a stronger relationship and promote a better understanding between law enforcement and the community it serves. Thursday night was the graduation ceremony for the second class to complete the program.

"This round was very similar to the first round in that we had the students engage with us hand in hand,” said Troy Police Captain Stephen Seney. During the program the captain said the citizen cadets were able to act in the role of a police officer, “We put them in situations where they were a hostage negotiator.”

“We had a suicide call, which was like a simulation. And you learn that, you know, if someone has a weapon, whether it's a gun or a knife, that you would come in and draw your weapon as well,” explained citizen cadet, Alicia Jackson.

The course also covers, investigations, crisis negotiation, use of force and criminal procedure law among other facets of law enforcement. Captain Seney tells NEWS10 Reporter, James De La Fuente, “At one point they were able to fire tasers. They were able to fire weapons with actual little pink balls in them.”

“We got to taze the dummies, which was fun. And we did get to shoot some simulated guns at some targets,” said citizen cadet Peter Laz.

Citizen cadet Elijah Scott said, “Sometimes defensive tactics have to be used in order to make sure, not just for you to be safe, but the suspect to be safe as well. So, it was really eye-opening.”

This year the class grew in enrollment by one cadet. “There were a dozen or so people in the course and we all got along. We had a good time. We had some laughs, but we all learned a lot and it was really great,” said Laz.

The mayor says this program is a proven success to the city and the police department as a way to help join them and the community together by giving folks a real-life experience. “It's not just the citizens learning from police, it's the police learning from citizens,” said Troy Mayor, Carmella Mantello.

The application for the next Citizens Police Academy can be found on the Troy City website.