The Princeton Police Department’s first ever command officer to attend the FBI’s National Academy says his experiences and connections will be useful for the remainder of his law enforcement career.

Lieutenant over Special Operations Jesus Rodriguez is a 21-year veteran of law enforcement, all of which have been spent serving Princeton. He recently returned from the FBI National Academy, hosted in Quantico, VA, and described it as “the highlight of his career.”

The most recent session of the National Academy, its 282nd, had individuals coming from 47 states and 26 countries and lasted for 10 weeks.

Rodriguez was the first officer to attend the academy as an officer representing the Princeton Police Department.

Beginning at 7:30 a.m. each morning and concluding class at 4 p.m., Rodriguez lived in a dorm with a roommate and attended classes that advanced his development as an officer and pushed him physically. He took a total of six courses including a leadership course and one period of physical training.

Rodriguez said he took courses focused on leading at-risk employees, legal issues in law enforcement operations, critical incident leadership and an overview of forensic science for police administrators in addition to his leadership and physical training courses.

All the coursework was equivalent to taking undergraduate courses at a university and all were taught by current or former law enforcement members, the lieutenant said.

“The classroom part was phenomenal,” Rodriguez said. “They bring their experience and what they know and they are experts in the field they are teaching about.”

The focus of the class on leading at-risk employees was the impact mental health and other factors can have on officers fulfilling their duties, said Rodriguez. He also said the course focused on providing department leadership about what to look for in officers affected by mental illness or other rigors of the job.

“Mental health in law enforcement is a big topic,” Rodriguez said. “That course was a good refresher and it opened my eyes because it showed me where to find information I need, what to look for and how to give these officers help.”

Rodriguez said the department is currently discussing the implementation of an officer wellness program and that he will have discussions with Police Chief Mark Moyle about what he learned.

Cyber crime will also be a topic of discussion between Rodriguez and Moyle, he said, because it is rapidly growing. Rodriguez also oversees special operations which deals directly with any fraud or forgery cases the department handles. He said one potential recommendation he might make is setting up a conversation between the city’s internal technology department and the police department.

While the academics were time intensive, Rodriguez also had a set of weekly physical challenges to complete so that he could try and conquer the “Yellow Brick Road,” a 6.1 mile course that runs through the woods, has an obstacle course and involves a road run. Some of the physical challenges on physical training days before the final challenge included a bleacher run, medicine ball throws and distance runs.

Attendees who complete the course earn a yellow brick, one that Rodriguez can now display because he completed the “Yellow Brick Road.”

Rodriguez said this was one of the most challenging parts of his time at the National Academy.

“It showed all of us the importance of keeping the mind and body fit,” Rodriguez said. “If you have a good mind and are in good health, you perform well. When you perform well, you’re doing everything right.”

While he returned with improved physical fitness and more knowledge of policing, Rodriguez said an invaluable resource are the different officers he met from across the country and around the world. There were various culture nights, including one where he represented Texas to his classmates, which gave Rodriguez perspective on different methodologies employed by different police departments in the U.S. and around the world.

“I met 254 officers from around the world and they became my brothers and sisters,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the power of attending and being a member of the National Academy.”

Rodriguez also sat in on weekly lectures offered at the National Academy that involved professionals from different law enforcement backgrounds that provided unique perspectives to attendees. 

He also thought the overall structure of the academy was because command staffs from departments around the world were equalized as peers in the classroom.

“There was no rank in the classroom,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what opened up the discussion part of it. We were able to talk freely as fellow officers.”

Police Chief Mark Moyle graduated the FBI National Academy in 2008 when he worked as an officer for the McKinney Police Department. He, like Rodriguez, also completed the “Yellow Brick Road” and proudly displays a brick of his own.

“We are very proud of Lieutenant Rodriguez and his graduation from the F.B.I. National Academy,” Moyle said. “Lieutenant Rodriguez is the first Princeton Police Officer to attend the National Academy, and we hope to continue that tradition.”

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