Lafayette Parish Sheriff Garber announces graduation from FBI Academy
Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber announced he has graduated from the FBI National Academy after a 10-week course.
QUANTICO, Va. (KLFY) -- Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber announced he has graduated from the FBI National Academy after a 10-week course.
According to the FBI National Academy's website, the program "provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science."
Garber announced he graduated on June 9 as part of a class of 254 candidates from 47 states and the District of Columbia, which included law enforcement agents from 37 countries, four military organizations and nine federal and civilian agencies.
Garber said he left the sheriff's office under the command of Chief Deputy Col. Carlos Stout while he was attending the course.
“I’m humbled to have been accepted into and completed this prestigious academy," stated Garber in his press release. "The knowledge, experience, and relationships I gained during my time in Quantico will undoubtedly be priceless tools I will use to continue to improve and advance law enforcement standards in Lafayette Parish.”
According to the Academy, to be nominated to attend, candidates must:
- Be a regular, full-time officer of a duly-constituted law enforcement agency of a municipality, county, or state, having at least five years of substantial and continuous experience
- Be at least 25 years old
- Be in excellent physical condition, capable of strenuous exertion and regular participation in the use of firearms, physical training, and defensive tactics, which will be confirmed by a thorough physical examination (submitted when requested by the FBI) by a medical doctor of the nominee’s choosing and at the nominee’s expense
- Possess an excellent character and enjoy a reputation for professional integrity
- Exhibit an interest in law enforcement as a public service, a seriousness of purpose, qualities of leadership, and enjoy the confidence and respect of fellow officers
- Has 60 college credit hours or equivalent education experience
- Agree to remain in law enforcement for a minimum of three years after graduating from the FBI National Academy
Garber said his law enforcement career began 30 years ago with the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office and he has since served in Texas with the City of Arlington, as a civilian special agent with the U.S. Air Force, United States Secret Service, as an attorney-at-law and an assistant district attorney with the 15th Judicial District Court. The sheriff said he has a degree from Louisiana State University and a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University.
“This accomplishment is a testament to the Sheriff’s commitment to seize any opportunity to enhance his ability to effectively lead his agency in service to the community,” said Stout. “Sheriff Garber has a unique combination of education and experience gained by years of involvement in the criminal justice process from the initial investigation to arrest, prosecution, conviction and sentencing.”
The National Academy was launched in 1935 as the “Police Training School.” China, Canada, and Great Britain were among the first countries to send representatives in the late 1930s, but usually only a few officers per session. The number of international students began to rise in August 1962, when President Kennedy signed National Security Action Memorandum No. 177 to enhance the training of overseas officers in the United States. As a result, the FBI began accepting up to 20 international law enforcement executives in each National Academy Session.