Dean College Officer Among Recent Police Academy Grads

The Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) Executive Director Colonel Rick Rathbun (Ret.) and East Falmouth Academy Director Lt. Donald Mills (Ret.) recently announced the graduation of 46 police officers from the MPTC East Falmouth Police Academy’s 2nd Recruit Officer Course (ROC). The graduates successfully completed over 20 weeks of intensive, standardized training in all aspects of law enforcement and will now serve as full-time officers representing 24 police agencies across Massachusetts, including Dean College campus police.

“Through our standardized curriculum and reform driven training, the MPTC is shaping a new generation of police officers prepared to meet the highest standards of public safety and accountability.” said MPTC Executive Director Colonel Rick Rathbun (Ret.). “This class represents a diverse group of individuals who have dedicated themselves to a demanding training process that prepares them for the realities of public safety work. We commend their perseverance and look forward to their contributions to departments statewide.”

In a graduation ceremony at the Cape Cod Community College, members of the 2nd ROC took an oath and received their badges for service. The new officers represented several police departments and agencies, in addition to Dean College, including Bourne, Brewster, Brockton, Canton,  Dukes County Sheriff’s, Fall River, Falmouth, Harwich, Holliston, Marion, Mashpee, Massport, Nantucket, New Bedford, Norton, Norwell, Orleans, Plymouth, Provincetown, Scituate, Swansea, Wareham, and Yarmouth. They join over 400 officers who have graduated from MPTC Operated Academies in training year 2025-2026.

As part of the MPTC’s commitment to academic excellence and world-class police training, the Recruit Officer Course (ROC) provides over 800 hours of course curriculum designed to prepare student officers for the safe and effective performance of their duties. In keeping with mandates established by the landmark 2020 police reform law, the MPTC curriculum includes de-escalation training based on new use-of-force policies and regulations. Student officers also receive uniform training based on best practices related to essential modern-day policing needs, including effective communication skills, victim-centered and trauma-informed incident response, missing persons and human trafficking investigations, mental health-related emergency response, active shooter and hostile event response, patrol duties, and officer safety and wellness.

Upon successful completion of the Academy, student officers have met all training requirements to be eligible for Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission certification.