The Humble ISD Police Department is the first school district police department in Texas to receive Academy Training Provider status from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, creating the Humble ISD Law Enforcement Academy.
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Deputy Chief Cullen Grissom announced the designation at the Humble ISD School Board meeting on Dec. 10, 2024.
“I am happy to present Humble ISD with a law enforcement academy status,” Grissom said. “It’s the first of its kind for an ISD police department.”
The Humble ISD Law Enforcement Academy will provide training to individuals seeking to earn certifications needed for employment in law enforcement as well as training for law enforcement personnel who already hold certification. The Humble ISD Law Enforcement Academy plans to partner with law enforcement agencies to help meet their workforce needs as well as to train Humble ISD Police personnel. For certification the age requirement for a police officer is minimum 21. The minimum age for telecommunicators dispatchers is 18 years old.
Those attending the academy will be sponsored by a policing agency.
Grissom said there is a need for law enforcement training with a special focus on the needs of students and teachers. TCOLE recognized the growth in school district police forces and the growth and expertise within the Humble ISD Police Department.
“We’re really excited,” Grissom said. “To be quite candid, we have turned down other ISD police departments because we didn’t feel like they had the resources to back up the importance of licensing courses. Chief Solomon Cook and his team put together a compelling packet asking for the contract with great support for your neighbors in that field. We got a lot of support from other similarly-situated school district police departments who believe there is a need for school-based law enforcement-centric licensing training.”
The Humble ISD Law Enforcement Academy plans to offer licensure courses for Telecommunicators, Jailers, and Peace Officers who may end up working for Humble ISD Police or for other agencies. The academy will implement a phased approach to its expansion, starting with a two-week Telecommunicator course. Subsequent phases will include a three-week Jailer course and the intensive six-month Basic Peace Officer Course (BPOC). The first Telecommunicator course is anticipated to start during the 2025-2026 school year.
Beyond these courses, the academy will continue to host a variety of state-mandated training programs for officers who already hold certifications in partnership with organizations such as FBI-LEEDA, PATC (Public Agency Training Council), and the Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute.
For more than 10 years, the Humble ISD Police Department has served as a Police Training Provider for the State of Texas. There are about 215 agencies in Texas with this designation and only eight are school district police departments. The law enforcement academy status is a higher level designation. Humble ISD Police have trained officers from throughout Texas on School Based Law Enforcement, ALERRT, and Behavioral Threat Assessment Training. The Humble ISD Police Department has hosted FBI Executive Management training, attended by officers from throughout the nation.
The Humble ISD Police Department earned the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA) Agency Trilogy Award in 2023, becoming one of only two school district police departments in the nation to earn the award.
Chief Cook served as the President of the Texas School Police Chiefs Association in 2022-2023. The association promotes professional development opportunities and dialogue among the 330 school school district police forces in Texas.
“The Humble ISD Police Department celebrated its 30th Anniversary this school year,” Interim Superintendent Dr. Roger Brown said. “Humble ISD Police have won state and national awards, but the department does not rest on past achievements. Humble ISD Police continue to seek new challenges.”
All officers of the Humble Independent School District Police Department are commissioned peace officers, licensed by the State of Texas. They possess the same arrest powers and authority as other peace officers in the state. Furthermore, the Humble ISD Police Department is a highly trained unit, dedicated to the essential and sensitive task of safeguarding students and staff within the district. Through specialized training and law enforcement tactics focused on school safety, the Department collaborates effectively to meet the needs of schools.
Pictured Above: Humble ISD School Board President Chris Parker, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Deputy Chief Cullen Grissom, Humble ISD Chief of Police Solomon Cook, Humble ISD Assistant Chief Erica Journet, Humble ISD Police Sergeant Freda Moore and Humble ISD Interim Superintendent Dr. Roger Brown display the certificate from TCOLE authorizing Humble ISD Police to offer state certification courses for prospective law enforcement personnel in multiple agencies.