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Citizens police academy in session

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By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer 1:26 AM Monday, February 8, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — Residents curious about the inner workings of their local police department are participating in Middletown’s first Citizens Police Academy.

About 18 residents and business owners — including former city councilmen Tony Marconi and Chris Amburgey — attended the first of 12 sessions held Tuesday, Feb. 2. The academy is free to those who signed up.

Participants will receive hands-on training in gun safety, operating a radar device and use of force with beanbag guns and Tasers.

Middletown police said the curriculum is similar to a traditional police academy with one exception: Class members won’t become law enforcement officers at the end.

While other police departments, including Monroe, Fairfield and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, offered similar classes during the past year, Middletown is taking its first crack at the course.

“We have talked about it off and on over the years,” said Major Mark Hoffman, “This year the time seemed right.”

Class members got a tour Tuesday of police headquarters and the city jail. Amburgey called the jail tour “eye-opening.”

“To actually see how small those jail cells are was interesting,” Amburgey said. “If that isn’t a crime deterrent, then we don’t have one. ... It makes a person value their freedom.”

Amburgey, 59, who signed up for the academy because he “loves to learn,” said he was amused by photographs the group was shown of Middletown’s first-ever jail.

“It was a one-person reinforced outhouse with some bars on it,” Amburgey said. “And it cost $10 to build.”

Class members got a chance to test their knowledge of Middletown’s history with a little trivia.

For example, what notorious outlaw and robber was captured by authorities in Middletown in 1930?

The answer: Clyde Barrow, before he hooked up with his partner in crime Bonnie Parker. The duo was ambushed and killed four years later by law officers in Louisiana.

Barrow had escaped from a Texas jail and drove into Middletown in March 1930 where he and two others robbed Gough Lamb Dry Cleaners, which is still located on Charles Street. While trying to escape Middletown police, Barrow wrecked the car and is believed to have thrown his gun into the hydraulic canal, according to police.

Participants were shown Barrow’s booking record and other department memorabilia.

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