25 high school students take part in Kent Police Teen Academy

Twenty-five high school students from Kent participated in the three-day Kent Police Department Youth Academy.

They learned about different divisions within the department, including detectives, traffic, special operations, SWAT and the Civil Disturbance Unit, according to a Kent Police social media post. The academy was held June 25-27 at the Kent Police and Fire Training Center, 24523 116th Ave. SE.

King County Sheriff’s Office Guardian One helicopter landed for the visit. The teens fired simulation shots, participated in a mock building clearing, tracked speeding cars with a lidar gun and completed a physical fitness test that was no easy feat.

Parents and friends attended the graduation ceremony. Kent Mayor Dana Ralph and Police Chief Rafael Padilla presented certificates and thanked the teens for participating. The academy was created for students interested in law enforcement or simply wanting to learn more about the job of an officer.

Ralph asked them what they enjoyed most about the past week. Each hand raised shared a different experience.

“Our favorite topics were the ones about building relationships with officers, how it was important to spend a lot of time working with them and not only teaching them what it’s like to be in law enforcement, but also cracking a few jokes along the way,” Kent Police said in a statement.

The Academy was open to second, third and fourth year primary school students from the 2024–2025 school year and 2024 graduates.