The Michigan State Police recently graduated the 124th Trooper Recruit School from the State Police Training Academy. Three recruits have been assigned to the Brighton post, which covers Livingston and Washtenaw counties.
Siera Hammond
Courtesy of MSP
Jeffrey Schmerheim
Courtesy of MSP
Amy Belanger
Courtesy of MSP
The recruit school started on Oct. 28, 2012 with 114 recruits and ended 22 weeks later with 90 troopers, who graduated March 29, according to a news release.
Trooper Siera Hammond, 26 years old, is from Newport and has an associate degree from Monroe County Community College and a bachelor’s degree in humanities from the University of Toledo. She also holds a master's degree in history from Western Michigan University.
Hammond said “she always wanted to do something more with my life” and was drawn to a career in public service. This led her to the Michigan State Police.
Trooper Jeffrey Schmerheim, 25 years old, is from St. Clair Shores, and has an associate degree in criminal justice from Macomb Community College.
“I have always wanted to be police officer,” he said.
Schmerheim was able to complete an internship at the state police's Richmond Post, which made him want to pursue the opportunity of being a trooper.
Trooper Amy Belanger, 28 years old, is from Clakston and holds an associate degree in criminal justice from Mott Community College. Prior to being a trooper, she worked as a cadet for the West Bloomfield Township Police Department.
“Even as a child I have always been intrigued by law enforcement and knew she wanted to be a part of it,” she said.
Belanger is the first in her family to be a police officer.
The three troopers received training in ethics, physical fitness, water safety, criminal and traffic law, patrol tactics, defensive tactics, crime scene investigation, precision driving, various firearms, first-aid, small squad tactic and many other aspects of law enforcement, according to the state police.
At the Brighton Post, the troopers are called “Cubs," a nickname for rookies, and will be assigned to various senior troopers for the next 17 weeks.
The Michigan State Police will start the 125th Recruit School on May 12. Any person interested in becoming a trooper should visit www.michigan.gov/mspjobs for more information on how to apply.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.