The Dover Police Department is announcing the graduation of the Dover Municipal Police Academy. On Friday, March 3, 2023, the department hosted a graduation ceremony at the the Dover High School auditorium to celebrate the end of the 21-week training academy. Eighteen recruits from thirteen Delaware police agencies successfully completed the training and graduated.
Speakers at the ceremony included Lieutenant Governor of Delaware Bethany Hall-Long, Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, City of Dover City of Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen, and City of Dover Police Chief Thomas Johnson.
Several awards were also presented for outstanding performances by academy recruits:
Academic Achievement Award
The Academic Achievement Award is awarded to the recruit who continued to demonstrate a high level of academic proficiency throughout academy training. Based on a series of tests to prove their understanding of course content, the recruits all received a final academic GPA. While all of the recruits demonstrated tremendous work in the academic area, this recruit earned the highest average in the class with a 97.8 GPA.
The award was presented to Milford Police recruit, Hunter Simpson.
Top Shot Award
The Top Shot Award is awarded to the recruit who demonstrated the highest level of marksmanship proficiency and firearms safety throughout a series of day and night firearms training and qualification courses.
The Top Shot award was presented to Tyler Mau of the Camden Police Department.
Physical Fitness Award
The Dover Police Academy Physical Fitness Award is awarded to the police recruit who demonstrated a high level of physical fitness, strength, and endurance throughout the academy. This recruits also continued to push themselves to a higher level throughout the 21 weeks of physical training.
The Physical Fitness Awards was presented to Dover Police recruit, Jonathan Lopez.
Francis T. Schneible Resiliency Award
The Francis T. Schneible Resiliency Award is given to the police recruit who showed the most resiliency during the academy. Francis Schneible began his law enforcement career with the Dover Police Department in 1968. Just one year into his tour, Schneible was shot by a shoplifting suspect who was armed with a shotgun. Schneible’s resiliency allowed him to continue to serve for four more years with Dover, later joining the Delaware State Police. Schneible unfortunately lost his life 24 years after the shooting due to difficulties stemming from his injuries he sustained.
The recipient of the Francis T. Schneible Award was Hunter Simpson, from the Milford Police Department.
Corporal Thomas Hannon Top Recruit Award
The Corporal Thomas Hannon Top Recruit Award is given to the police recruit who displayed an outstanding effort and demonstrated quality leadership throughout the 19-week academy. This recruit always gave their best effort and went above and beyond to help their classmates throughout the challenges of the academy. Corporal Thomas Hannon began his law enforcement career with the New York City Police Department before joining the Dover Police Department in 2005. Corporal Thomas Hannon was also named the Top Municipal Recruit of his Delaware State Police 76th/64th Academy Class, which made it even more appropriate to name this award in his honor.
In 2012, Corporal Hannon suffered a leg injury during the arrest of a suspect and continued to suffer from complications as a result. On September 1st, 2017, Corporal Hannon lost his life as a result of medical complications stemming from the injury and subsequent surgeries.
The recipient of the Corporal Thomas Hannon Top Recruit Award was Kyle Cox, of the Milton Police Department.
In his closing remarks, M/Cpl Ryan Schmid, reminded the recruits of the challenges that lie ahead and of the Core Values of the Dover Municipal Police Academy: “The policing profession continues to face unprecedented change and challenges, to include recruitment of those willing to serve their community. But because of people like you who stepped up to serve despite those challenges, we have faith that the State of Delaware is in good hands. As you serve your respective communities, I challenge you to continue to be examples of COURAGE, PROFESSIONALISM, and INTEGRITY.”
Graduating Recruits from the 2023 City of Dover Municipal Police Academy:
Camden Police Department
Tyler Mau
City of Dover Police Department
Tyler Hughto
Jonathan Lopez
Jean Jacques-LaFleur
Anthony Weedon
Fenwick Island Police Department
Cameron Clift
Georgetown Police Department
Maxwell Bruette
Harrington Police Department
Davin AndersonAustin Rains
Laurel Police Department
Bryan Tindley
Milford Police Department
Hunter Simpson
Carlos Hernandez
Millsboro Police Department
Brian Cabezas
Milton Police Department
Kyle Cox
Newport Police Department
Shane Smith
Ocean View Police Department
Dylan Murphy
South Bethany Police Department
Matthew Boyd
Wyoming Police Department
Alexis McCullough