Quantico, VA (Paul Kirby) – Last week, Springdale’s Police Chief Kevin Cornett graduated from the 270th Session of the FBI’s National Academy (NA) in Quantico, VA. The commencement speaker for the graduation ceremony was President Donald Trump. Chief Cornett was joined by 221 other senior and command level law enforcement officers from around the world,
The FBI’s National Academy is a 10-week program which provides coursework in law, behavioral science, forensic science, cyber security for law enforcement, understanding terrorism, leadership, communication, and health/fitness, as well as specialized training. This training is intended for the top 1% of law enforcement executives from around the world and provides an opportunity for these leaders to talk about best practices in the field. Chief Cornett and other members of the class also completed a grueling 6-mile obstacle course known as the Yellow Brick Road and received the coveted yellow brick, a keepsake given to those who do complete that portion of the training.
Chief Cornett joins a very small number of executive leaders in the history of the Springdale Police Department to be selected and to attend the FBI National Academy. The chief received his certificate from the FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He was joined at his graduation by his wife Sarah, Springdale Mayor Michael Bishop, Sergeant Manuel and his wife also.
Chief Cornett said after the graduation that he is eager to bring his experiences back to Springdale and begin to apply them. He knows that the new experiences that he had while at the academy, and the new level of training that he’s now received will help to enhance the services that the Springdale Police Department offers the citizens of the town. It will also further improve upon the great relationships his department and staff already enjoy with the phenomenal citizens and staff in Springdale.
There were two other law enforcement leaders from the Midlands in the class with the chief. They were Deputy Chief Kelly from Columbia PD and Captain Yturri from Richland County Sheriff's Department. Other notable graduates of the academy from Lexington County include our own Sheriff Jay Koon, Chapin Police Chief Seth Zeigler, and Lexington Police Department’s Chief Terrance Green and Major Matt Davis.
