Staff Report
Four Santa Barbara County Sheriff deputy trainees have graduated from the Hancock College Law Enforcement Academy after 21 weeks of instruction.
The graduates — Guadalupe Ibarra, Miranda Moreno, Gordon Williams III and Flavio Vargas — received their certificates of completion Dec. 5 at a formal ceremony held at the Hancock Public Safety Training Complex in Lompoc. The deputy trainees, among 17 new graduates, come to the Sheriff’s Office with a variety of backgrounds and life experiences including a former Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Custody Deputy, a former Program Coordinator for the Santa Barbara County’s Sexual Assault Response Team, a retired U.S. Army veteran and a U.S. Navy reserve member.
Prior to the ceremony, the deputy trainees were sworn in by Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.
“Class 116 grew together as a tight-knit team and each one of the recruits was provided with a solid foundation to build their competency as a law enforcement officer,” said Special Duty Deputy Vincent Buck, the Recruit Training Officer.
Ibarra received the Leadership and Report Writing Awards; Vargas won the Leo Ortega Most Inspirational Recruit Award; and Williams won the Doug Odom Firearms Award and the safe driver award on the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course.
The Sheriff’s Office is accepting applications for additional deputy trainees. To apply, go to www.sbsheriff.org and click on the “Join Us” section.
