The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office recently welcomed five new sheriff's deputies.
Just before the Allan Hancock College Basic Law Enforcement Academy graduation on Wednesday, Sheriff Bill Brown swore in graduates Dylan Darga, Kayla Saint-Fleur, Matthew Shotwell, and Garrett Weinrich. He also welcomed Heather van Hemert who is joining the sheriff's office from the Santa Paula Police Department where she was a K9 handler and was featured on an episode of A&E's America's Top Dog.
The four academy graduates completed the California Peace Officer Standards and Training course. The 862-hour, six-month course includes instruction on community policing, report writing, laws of arrest, search and seizure, firearms, ethics, investigation procedures, patrol techniques, arrest and control, physical training, CPR/First Aid, and emergency vehicle operations.
