By Amanda Pevey
Elmore Autauga News
Photos from EAN and submitted – SEE FULL GALLERY BELOW
Nineteen Millbrook Police Junior Police Academy graduates were recognized Friday at Millbrook Middle School as the class of 2025-1. During the week, students worked hard to become a team and not only had physical challenges to complete but mental ones as well. The academy experience is always fun, rigorous, and enjoyable for the cadets.
Captain Stephen Youngblood, SRO Corporal Kristen White, and SRO Lieutenant Matt Henson were the three in charge of the Millbrook Police Academy.
The Second Camp with a new set of cadets are training this week and will continue through Friday.
Throughout the week, engage in many demonstrations which highlight several aspects of law enforcement. The students also saw a live Taser and OC (Pepper Spray) demonstration. Taser volunteers this past Friday included a Millbrook Middle School teacher, Jeremy Schultz, and a Millbrook Police Department Dispatcher, Jasmine Barr. OC Spray volunteer was Zack Smith, the former band director for Millbrook Middle School. The cadets learned about crime scene investigation, building clearing, self-defense, how to find evidence when searching inside a vehicle, character building, and much more.
During the ceremony, the cadets took an oath of promise, administered by Chief P.K. Johnson. The oath was simply to obey all laws, and assist their fellow citizens, and if you see something, say something. City Council President Michael Gay and Councilman Chris Bath were in attendance during the ceremony.
“Cpl. White and I look forward to this event every year,” said Captain Stephen Youngblood.
He continued, “We enjoy showcasing the capabilities of the Millbrook Police Department, along with fostering relationships with our youth. This year we added an additional instructor, Lt. Henson. Both Cpl. White and Lt. Henson are school resource officers for our schools. All of us enjoy interacting with the children, building bonds, and teaching them valuable lifelong lessons. We let the children experience what it’s like to be a police officer. They get to experience traffic stops, car searches, (simulated)_ drunk driving, and crime scenes. They see demonstrations from the Millbrook SRT team and K9 officers. They also get to experience a live demonstration for Tasing and OC spray.”
Millbrook Police Chief Johnson said, “Last Friday, I had the honor of presiding over the graduation of this fine group of young people, who completed a week worth of training in session 25-1 of the MIllbrook Police Department Junior Police Academy, which was held at the Millbrook Middle School.
“This group of young people, ranging in age from eight years of age to 15, gave up a week of their summer break to spend a week with the men and women of the Millbrook Police Department. They were exposed to some of the training that law enforcement officers go through when they attend formal training at the Police Academy. This included daily physical fitness training, mock building searches, demonstrations from the department’s Narcotics Canine and Special Operations Units and other classes and demonstrations involving police tactics and training procedures. Make no mistake, these camps is not about recruiting our young people into law enforcement. It’s about building positive relationships with our community and the people that we serve. What better place to start than with our young people.”
These young men and women learned a lot about law enforcement this week, but more importantly they got to know the police officers that serve their community and we got to know them. Hopefully, now they realize that police officers are people too, just like their mothers, fathers, and grandparents.
Johnson said, “In speaking with them during and after the graduation ceremony, I could tell that they were sharp, attentive and apparently they had a great time this week. I want to thank the young people that attended for giving us a week of their summer break, as well as their parents for entrusting them to our care. I also want to thank Mayor Al Kelley and our City Council for their continued leadership and support of our continued efforts to serve and project our community, as well as providing programs like this for our community. I also want to convey my appreciation to the Elmore County Child Partnership SOAR Program for their partnership, as well as the Elmore County Board of Education and the Millbrook Middle School.
“In closing, last but certainly not least, I want to thank Captain Stephen Youngblood Jr., Lieutenant Matt Henson and Corporal Kristen White, who were our primary academy instructors this week, as well as the numerous Millbrook police officers that assisted in various roles throughout the week. To all who helped make the first week, and this week possible, thank you and job well done. Congratulations to Class 2025-1 on becoming Junior Police Officers.”
A special thank you to the following organizations and volunteers:
Elmore County Partnership for Children- SOAR Program
Millbrook Middle School
Central AL Police K9
Taser volunteers: Mr. Jeremy Schultz (teacher) and Mrs. Jasmine Barr (Dispatcher)
OC volunteer: Mr. Zach Smith
Cpl. White
Lt. Henson
Also, all the many officers within the Millbrook Police Department that helped make this program successful.
Even though spots are full for this year, the camp will be offered again next year. Be sure to check out the Millbrook Middle School’s Facebook page in the Spring 2026 for dates on when to apply for the camp. You can also contact the Millbrook Police Department for more information.
