As the second semester of the 2023-2024 school year is underway, the CHS School Resource Officers (SROs) are offering students the opportunity to participate in police training through the Carmel Cadets program.

According to Cristhian Rodriguez, Master Patrol Officer, SRO and Carmel Cadet Adviser, the Carmel Cadet program is an excellent way for students to dip their toes into police training.

“The Carmel Cadets program provides kids with the opportunity to learn more about law enforcement and gain an understanding of law enforcement’s role in our community,” Rodriguez said. “We achieve this by having guest speakers teach students about their experiences as (police) officers. (We also) have them participate in team-building exercises focused on essential tasks that police officers must be able to perform, such as investigating crime scenes and treating minor wounds.”

Kyle Yang, a former Carmel Cadet and freshman, said that his experience as a Carmel Cadet taught him valuable life lessons and enhanced his understanding of the training law enforcement officers undergo.

“I was a Carmel Cadet last year and it was a really cool experience where I learned how the Carmel police department operates,” Yang said. “We did many interesting things, such as mock crime investigations, and I even got to ride in a police officer’s car and experience what their daily life looks like. Although I don’t want to be a police officer, the cadet program taught me about the ins and outs of the training officers go through, which was genuinely interesting.”

Greg Zimmerman, Master Patrol Officer, SRO and Carmel Cadet advisor, said that the program is currently focused on teaching kids how to quickly repair wounds and treat injuries.

“As police officers, we have to think on our feet very quickly, and we don’t always have the (proper) resources to help wounded people, so we need to know how to treat them effectively,” Zimmerman said. “Since treating wounded people is crucial to police training, we ensure that our Cadets know how to stop wounds as well. We have a curriculum in place called ‘Stop the Bleed,’ where students are instructed on how to patch up injuries quickly with the resources they have around them. So, if the need arises, they know how to help injured people.”