SEABROOK – For both Alejandra Medrano-Munoz and Jalaeme Gomez, standing in front of their friends and family as they were formally introduced as new deputies for the Prince George’s County Office of the Sheriff at Riverdale Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro on Aug. 15, it was a realization that they were no longer students.
Every decision they make moving forward as an effective law enforcement officer is real and can have long-term consequences. However, both are ready to start serving the community in the new role.
“I had mixed feelings, but it definitely was a sigh of relief (to graduate), but at the same time, we are not finished yet,” Gomez said. “It is real life, and not a controlled environment like the academy was. Our consequences actually matter and impact the community and our lives.”
They were two of five new deputies welcomed into the ranks after graduating from the Prince George’s County Police Academy as members of Session 136 class. The other three deputies that joined the sheriff’s office were Ryan Harris, Leonardo Johnson Jr., and Saheed A. Lawal.
“The academy was very challenging,” Medrano-Munoz said. “My family provided a lot of motivation and the community and teachers as well kept pushing us through all the up-and-down those eight months and they were always there to help us go through it.”
Since their graduation and joining the sheriff’s office, the new recruits have been going through a phasing-in process, where they work together with a field training officer to merge their academy teachings with real life. This allows them to acclimate to their roles while someone checks on their job performance in real time.
Medrano-Munoz is currently working with the domestic abuse unit while Gomez is currently in the courthouse.
The graduates completed a grueling eight-month coursework, which included basic training. While the physical aspect is necessary, they were taught how to talk to people and the psychology of how to approach different communities, Medrano-Munoz said.
“It is a long process, and we were in the academy for eight months,” Gomez said. “You’re constantly being challenged to get out of your comfort zone on a daily basis. But the motivation, the ultimate goal, was to graduate and make a difference in my community and I was willing to go through all of that to reach my goal.”
“It has been a hard time to recruit people into law enforcement in the past couple of years,” Director of Communications Sharon Taylor said. Nationwide, police departments have a shortage of staff despite the unemployment rate for this year being at its lowest, averaging 3.6 percent, for the last decade according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
However, for Gomez, it was a natural fit.
Even though his father, an architect, would have preferred him to enter into a similar career path, the Eleanor Roosevelt High School graduate said he was motivated “to help people.” He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Bowie State University before heading to the academy.
Meanwhile, for Medrano-Munoz, the only new woman deputy, helping the community was a passion. As a Latina woman, she plans to use her bilingual speaking skills to help better serve the second-largest minority population (18.5 percent) in the county according to the most recent U.S. Census data.
“We are proud of all of their accomplishments,” Sheriff Melvin C. High said. “Academy training is a rigorous environment. Their dedication to serve the community is evident by their completion of this element of learning and preparing. We know that as they excelled in the Academy, they will continue to deliver top-notch service to the citizens of the county.”
Taylor acknowledged that Medrano-Munoz and Gomez serve as examples of the type of officers departments around the country are looking to recruit.
The Sheriff’s Office will use their successful completion of academy work and joined their department as part of the future recruitment of young cadets with good backgrounds and critical thinking skills.
“This is not just a job, this is a career,” Medrano-Munoz said. “You cannot come in doing it for yourself (because) you are out there protecting people and you are there when they need you the most.”
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