Early Saturday morning, March 9th, thirty-five CJ seniors boarded a coach bus in front of the Simon Center and headed to Washington, D.C. accompanied by CJ Professors Jones, Abbott and Hubbard, and two law enforcement mentors, Hillsborough County Deputy Sheriff Priscilla Jones and Belknap County Detective Sergeant William H. Wright. The trip represented the travel component for their CJ 4000 course. This year’s trip was dedicated in memory of Officer Ashley Marie Guindon, originally from Merrimack, New Hampshire, who was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance while on duty in Virginia in 2016. On Sunday morning, the group traveled to the National Law Enforcement Memorial to honor her, and other fallen law enforcement members. The CJ senior group also made a donation in name of Officer Ashley Marie Guindon.
During the week-days, the group visited various law enforcement agencies such as the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, D.C. Metropolitan Joint Operations Command Center, D.C. Metropolitan Dept. of Forensics Services ( Crime Lab ), D.C. Superior Court, U.S. Capitol Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters, D.C. Metropolitan Marine Patrol, D.C. Metropolitan Training Academy, Prince William County Police Department and the Prince William County/Manassas Adult Detention Center.
At the end of each day back at the hotel, students attended training sessions where invited presenters spoke to the group. Among the giving presentations where the following:
1) U.S. Secret Service Agent Michael Peck
2) D.C. Metropolitan Police Officers Anthony Gramieri and Ethan Way (who are both NEC alumni)
3) David Turk, U.S. Marshall’s Office
4) Senior Special Agent Christopher Leeman, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
5) Dr. Jenifer Smith, Director, Metropolitan D.C. Forensic Services
6) FBI Special Agent Scott Cieplik (who was the lead agent at the Boston Marathon bombing incident)
In addition, during the week students had the opportunity to do ride-alongs, and initiate employment processes, both with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and the Prince William County Police Department. Senior Kyle Gilbert said the trip “opened your horizons to where you can work in this field and the jobs available’. Senior Destiny Rios commented “it was an amazing experience that you cannot get at any other institution.”
The group returned to the NEC campus on Saturday, March 16th.
