Every class that graduates from the Lincoln University Law Enforcement Training Academy on the school’s Jefferson City campus is historic because it remains the lone
HBCU that offers the curriculum and training. The Academy’s fourth class graduated on May 26, 2022, in Pawley Theater. The newly minted officers are Miguel Barton of Jefferson City; Marcellis Blackwell of Palos Hills, Ill.; Madison James of Jefferson City; Saleh Lajkem of St. Louis; Benjamin Ofori of Jefferson City; Bradley Richter of Jefferson City; Denisha Taylor of St. Louis; and Keon Woodall of Memphis, Tenn. Gary L. Hill, Lincoln University Police chief, told graduates, “My hat is off to you.”
“We know that you have all signed up for among the noblest of professions,” he said. Hill said he wants this year’s graduates, and those from the previous three classes, to bring more than law enforcement to the streets of the communities they might serve. Addressing the graduates, Hill encouraged them to bring peace.
“You are all now peace officers,” he said.
“Your responsibility includes bringing lasting peace to your communities — to the communities that you serve, be the peace.
“It’s not just diversity of skin color. It’s diversity of thought,” Hill said. “When you wake up in the morning and put your badge and gun on, make sure the community is getting the best version of you every day.”
Since its founding in January 2021, the academy has averaged about nine students per semester, most of whom are African American.
The program is flourishing and attracting Black students, Hill explained, because of the academy’s location on an HBCU campus, and its diverse group of instructors.
According to the U.S. Justice Department in 2020, Black Americans comprised 12.1% of the nation’s 324,882 police officers.
The most common ethnicity is White (64.9%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (16.8%). More than 83% of America’s police officers are men, and the average age of an employed police officer is 40 years old.
Hill, who is African American, has been in law enforcement for 26 years and chief of the university’s police department for five years.
“People tend to go where they are going to be comfortable or made to feel welcome, where they see others who look like them,” says Hill.
“Our whole goal was to increase a minority footprint within law enforcement around the Missouri area. We had no idea that it was going to be as
big as it turned out to be. We have graduated more minorities out of our academy than any of the other 19 academies throughout the state.”
The academy’s 700-hour curriculum includes legal and technical studies, interpersonal perspectives, and skill development. Students also receive 15 college credit hours across four courses: Police Administration, Criminal Evidence and Procedure, Police Community Relations, and Criminal Justice Practicum.
Founded in 1866 by African American veterans of the Civil War, Lincoln University offers 50 undergraduate degree programs, as well as master’s degree programs in education, business, and social sciences. NBC’s TODAY featured the Lincoln University Law Enforcement Academy in June 2021 as part of a series called “Future of the Force by reporter Craig Melvin.
Innovative police academy at historically Black university is breaking down barriers (today.com) For more information, visit https://www.lincolnu.edu/web/police-department/lu-police-academy.
