WEEK 3: Arrest, search and seizure; the code of criminal procedure … and a newly found life

Just over a year and a half ago, 37-year-old Georgia Maher was living in Dallas screening checked baggage for explosives at the D/FW airport.

It was at this time that Maher’s life changed. With the aid of gastric-bypass surgery she lost an incredible 120 pounds and more than the literal weight was lifted off her shoulders.

“I felt like because my life-changing experience, my first life was over,” Maher, a Bryan Police Department sponsored recruit said with a huge smile on her face. “In life number two, I want to be a police officer.”

She is three weeks into taking the first step to living her dream.

“This is all I have ever wanted to do,” Maher continued as her smile grew even bigger. “I have never been physically able to do it until now. As much as it hurts when Mr. Santo is putting us through PT, I love every bit of it. For me it is like a new-found freedom.”

This week, Maher and her classmates studied arrest, search and seizure as well as the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Arrest, search and seizure covers topics like: when you can and can’t arrest someone, probable cause, how long you can hold someone once they are arrested and what is needed to get a search warrant, to name just a few.

Assistant Brazos County District Attorney Brian Baker spent time with the class, explaining the importance of a police officer’s activities.

“He says it is all about report writing and he emphasized that a seemingly insignificant detail can make or break a criminal case,” Maher explained. “He is the one that has to follow up and try to prosecute the cases we bring to him, so he should know.”

“Everything a police officer does is recorded - one way or another,” Mr. Santo said. “Whether it is their daily log or if they make an arrest, every detail is recorded.”

Thursday and Friday, Ed Costello of the Texas A&M University Police Department taught the class the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Maher, along with the rest of the 142nd Central Texas Police Academy have endured three weeks of classroom activity in preparation for their first test, which will be held next Wednesday.

“The test will cover over 100 hours of class instruction,” said Chris Sullivan, a recruit with the Hearne Police Department. “As long as you read every question carefully, I don’t think it will be too hard.”

We’ll be sure to ask him how hard he thought it was next week …

Interesting tidbits:

After the classroom test next Wednesday, the students will retest on all of the physical assessments they performed the first day of class.

“We should see some improvement,” Mr. Santo said. “Especially, we should see some improvement in upper body strength. They are finally getting used to the idea they have to get out and move, be active and put a little effort in it.”