December 26, 2023
By:
It is official!
Austin McCoy, son of Greg and Trudie Matthews of DeKalb County, graduated from the “Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy” on Thursday.
“Austin’s mom and I can’t say enough about how hard he worked for this,” said Greg. “Austin started working for the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department in corrections while he was a senior still enrolled in high school. Due to Covid, school was shut down, and the DCHS principal at the time ” Randy Jennings” sent a letter to the Sheriff’s Dept to verify that Austin would graduate so he could start his journey in law enforcement”.
“While other high school kids were putting on their tuxes for prom, Austin put on a uniform and his boots and locked himself in a building full of criminals,” Greg continued. “While in corrections he got his certifications to teach and certify officers in Defensive Tactics, Chemical Weapons, and Impact Weapons. He also received his certification in Tactical Medicine, Basic EMT, and Gang Investigations”.
“After years with the Cannon County Sheriff’s Dept he put in and was offered a position with the Sparta City Police Dept. While waiting to attend the police academy and during his time with his FTO, he received two commendations. The past 12 weeks has been mentally and physically exhausting for him but week after week he kept his head in the books and passed test after test. Tonight, we got the call that he passed his final test. He has officially passed and has reached his goal of becoming a law enforcement officer,” added Greg.