On Thursday, June 30 PAPD Officer Nathan Swanson graduated from the Criminal Justice Training Commission Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA). He attended the intensive 20 week program with Officers and Deputies throughout the State of Washington. The program includes firearms, defensive tactics, emergency vehicle operation, law, psychology and de-escalation tactics. It combines classroom with field and scenario based training. The Washington BLEA program focuses on best practice and is one of the premier basic academies in the United States.
Officer Swanson will begin tomorrow his 14 week, 3 phase field training and evaluation program. He will be assigned to 3 different field training officers in a performance based program that is known as the "San Jose model". It is consistent with what other certified and accredited agencies use in Washington and in the US.
Officer Swanson is a Port Angeles native. He came to PAPD as a Police Explorer. In 2020 he attended and completed the 280 hour Police Reserve Academy. He served as a Reserve Police Officer for PAPD and later as a Corrections Deputy for the Clallam County Sheriff's Office. As a Corrections Deputy he completed the Corrections Academy at the Criminal Justice Training Commission center in Burien, WA.