County receives new wildlife officer

County receives new wildlife officer

Cheers on the job

www.agfc.com WEST MEMPHIS – William Cheers soon will be patrolling the woods and waters of Crittenden County, adding a fresh new face and enthusiasm to protecting the natural resources of Arkansas and keeping outdoors enthusiasts safe. Cheers was one of 12 officers who recently graduated from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s training program Friday, Sept. 23.

Cheers’ process to become a wildlife officer began in June when he was selected from several hundred applicants to participate in the AGFC’s wildlife officer training program. All applicants chosen were required to have a minimum of a four-year college degree, four years of full-time law enforcement, four years military law enforcement, or a combination of those criteria.

During his 16-week training, Cheers spent most of his waking hours at the H.C. “Red” Morris Training Center east of Mayflower on Lake Conway. He received 740 hours of training in self-defense, firearms, first aid and rescue, drug enforcement, physical conditioning, criminal law and wildlife code enforcement.

“In Arkansas, wildlife officers are certified law enforcement, so we cover both state law as well as wildlife law,” said Maj.

Jason Parker. “Much of our jobs includes keeping the woods and waters safe, and that requires us to have the authority to make arrests for criminal cases as well as wildlife code violations.”

Captain Russ Carmack directs the cadet-training program, with many AGFC enforcement officers and staff members serving as instructors. Other experts participate in the teaching of specialized topics.

From the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission