Cohort of Cadets and Officers Graduate from SUNY Potsdam’s Law Enforcement Training Institute
Law Enforcement Training Institute cadets Charles DePrimo, center, and Joshua R. Collette examine bones during a mock crime scene investigation led by Katelin Babbitt ’26, left, an anthropology student at SUNY Potsdam—a brand-new addition to the police academy training during the Fall 2024 semester.
SUNY Potsdam’s Law Enforcement Training Institute recently recognized the graduates of its tenth police academy class with a ceremony held on campus.
The Law Enforcement Training Institute provides students with the unique opportunity to complete a rigorous pre-employment, state-approved police training as part of their undergraduate curriculum, alongside hired officers completing their own training.
A cohort of eight pre-employment police cadets and eight hired officer cadets started the training in August 2024 at SUNY Potsdam. The students and officers celebrated their completion of the program with a ceremony on Dec. 14, attended by family members, friends and law enforcement officials from across the state.
SUNY Potsdam’s 15-week program allows students to successfully complete Phase 1 of the New York State Municipal Basic Police Training, which includes 56 of the full 60 components required of all police officers. The academy also offers Phase 2 training, which comprises the final four components, which can only be completed by recently hired officers.
Students who complete Phase 1 are uniquely employable, as the agency that hires them will only be responsible for their Phase 2 and field training. This allows chiefs to get a new officer into their community much more quickly, and at less cost to the agency. The eight hired officers who graduated in December have since started their field training with their respective agencies.
The full list of graduates included:
- Rosemary Batista of Bronx, N.Y., completing pre-employment training as part of her studies.
- Ryan J. Bombard, who is an officer with Franklin County Probation.
- Colin D. Carroll, who is an officer with Canton Village Police.
- Joshua R. Collette, who is an officer with SUNY Potsdam University Police.
- Charles C. DePrimo of Farmingville, N.Y., completing pre-employment training as part of his studies.
- Woodly Eustache of Spring Valley, N.Y., completing pre-employment training as part of his studies.
- Gabriel J. Faubert, who is an officer with Saranac Lake Village Police.
- Preston J. Frank, who is an officer with St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police.
- Deborah A. Hallock, who is a school resource officer with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.
- Kiera T. Johnson of Ogdensburg, N.Y., completing pre-employment training as part of her studies.
- Jason A. Martinez of Glen Cove, N.Y., completing pre-employment training as part of his studies.
- Danielle E. Moscarello of Arlington, Vt., completing pre-employment training as part of her studies.
- Zachary R. Rottier, who is an officer with Tupper Lake Village Police.
- Thomas J. Smith, who is a school resource officer with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.
- Karli St. Ann of Malone, N.Y., a SUNY Canton graduate who completed pre-employment training as part of her studies.
- Jay M. Wood of Central Square, N.Y., completing pre-employment training as part of his studies.
Graduates of the Fall 2024 police academy class at SUNY Potsdam’s Law Enforcement Training Institute gathered for a group photo, including students completing pre-employment training and hired officers from local agencies. They include from left to right (top row): Jason Martinez, Zachery Rottier, Colin Carroll, Preston Frank, Woodly Eustache, Charles DePrimo, Jason Wood, and Gabriel Faubert. And from left to right (bottom row): Deborah Hallock, Karli St. Ann, Joshua R. Collette, Danielle Moscarello, Ryan Bombard, Thomas Smith, Kiera Johnson, and Rosemary Batista.
Beginning in Spring 2025, SUNY Potsdam will host an additional academy for newly hired officers to support local agencies, as the premier provider of law enforcement training in the North Country, endorsed by the St. Lawrence County Chiefs of Police and County Sheriff.
As a New York State-accredited police academy, SUNY Potsdam's Law Enforcement Training Institute offers in-service training for agencies throughout St. Lawrence County using top-of-the-line simulators, simulation tools, and facilities designed to improve decision-making skills through reality-based training. The annual police academy offers instruction in defensive tactics, emergency medical services, emergency vehicle operation, applying field sobriety tests, processing crime scenes and a plethora of other training topics. To learn more, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/appliedlearning/lawenforcement.
SUNY Potsdam offers one of the very few police academies in New York State that opts to prioritize seating to college students, allowing them to complete pre-employment training alongside hired officers—supporting local agencies and providing professional development opportunities for undergraduates at the same time.
"This was something I wanted to do here, and the College's Lougheed Center for Applied Learning fully supports it. With my 35 years of policing and training, I firmly believe policing needs better trained officers. When cadets graduate here, they have a four-year degree and a police academy under their belts. They are better trained, better educated, and more mature. It simply makes for better decision-making skills, which in turn makes for better community policing. We need more of that, and we all know it," said Police Academy Director Sonny Duquette, a retired St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office detective sergeant.
In order to be eligible for the SUNY Potsdam Law Enforcement Training Institute as a pre-employment cadet, candidates must be a junior or senior in their undergraduate studies, have a minimum of a 2.5 grade point average and possess a driver's license. Community members or students from other institutions may contact the Office of Transfer Admissions to discuss their eligibility for the program by visiting www.potsdam.edu/admissions/transfer.
The SUNY Potsdam Law Enforcement Training Institute is a collaboration between SUNY Potsdam University Police, the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, and the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning.
The SUNY Potsdam Criminal Justice Studies Program provides a broad interdisciplinary liberal arts orientation, with course requirements in philosophy, politics and sociology, and the opportunity for students to elect to study courses in anthropology, chemistry and psychology. The SUNY Potsdam Department of Sociology offers both a major and a minor in criminal justice studies. For more information, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Soci.
About SUNY Potsdam:
Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges—and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.