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Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas said four deputies recently completed advanced training courses that will benefit the PCSO as well as the community.

Thomas said Lt. Kevin Childs, Sgt. David Thomas and Sgt. Carlton Bean completed the Alabama Investigator Academy in Anniston and became the state’s first sheriff’s office certified Tier I Investigators. Thomas said the course work was a 4-block process consisting of 10 days over four months for a total of 80 hours of instruction.

Thomas said the deputies were trained in criminal investigation, crime scene process, fingerprinting, casting, advance crime scene processing, trace evidence, crime scene photography, interview and interrogation techniques, death investigation, digital evidence, criminal law procedures, case file preparation and courtroom testimony.

“All of this training is good for Pike County,” Thomas said. “I’m very proud of them for completing this training. They had to take a week away from their family for four months. There was a lot of good training, especially in digital and trace evidence. They’ll be able to take what they learned in Anniston and train deputies here in Pike County.”

Thomas said on April 28, Sgt. Russ Thomas completed the F.B.I. Firearms Instructor School. This school is a two-week, eighty-hour instructor course that Russ Thomas was invited to attend. Russ Thomas was one of 13 individuals that were officially invited to attend the school out of 60 people who attempted to shoot the pre-qualification courses. During the course of the school, Sergeant Russ Thomas did an excellent job representing the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, winning several firearms competitions with both his handgun and his rifle. The class consisted of individuals from ALEA, Police Departments, Sheriff’s Offices, Game and Fish, Department of Corrections, and Pardons and Paroles.

Russ Thomas has also completed three separate Tactical Operator Courses, which are certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. Sergeant Russ Thomas also serves as an instructor in Anniston, AL for the Tactical Operator Courses, which he obtained through official invitation.

Childs, Thomas, Bean and Russ Thomas also serve on the Pike County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team (SRT).

“Russ was just one of 13 individuals invited to take the FBI instructor course,” Thomas said. “Last year he was invited to teach at Anniston. That says a lot about how well our officers are trained in the Pike County Sheriff’ Office.