61 New Montana Officers Went Through Rigorous Training

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On Monday’s Talk Back show, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen let the cat out of the bag and announced the graduation of new officers from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy. 

“Every law enforcement officer in Montana, whether they’re Missoula County Sheriff, Missoula Police Department, or even up to your fish and game wardens and tribal police, they all go to the Montana Law Enforcement Academy,” Knudsen said. “That's under my purview as the head of the state Department of Justice. We graduate three classes a year and we're really proud of the work they do at the Academy.” 

MLEA is located in Helena and they just graduated sixty-one new officers who will serve in 36 agencies across the state. According to Knudsen, MLEA provides basic and advanced training for state, county, city, and tribal law enforcement officers throughout the state. 

“It is a sixteen-week class,” Knudsen said. “The cadets have to go through pretty rigorous training. We put them through firearms training, shooting training, ground tactics training, but there's also a lot of legal training like how to follow the law and constitutionally apply their law enforcement skills in Montana.” 

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Knudsen said he always makes a point to attend these graduation ceremonies and address the graduates. 

“I’m confident that today’s graduates are ready to face the challenges ahead of them as they begin their careers in law enforcement and I’m proud of what they have already accomplished,” Knudsen said. “They will be on the front lines protecting our communities and I’m sure they will do so with integrity and courage.” 

The full list of this session’s graduates is available here. A recorded broadcast of the ceremony is available here.