MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon’s Lt. Reginald “Rex” Young received the Excellence in Training award on Sept. 30 at the annual Law Enforcement Training Symposium in Sandusky.
Young was one of 10 officers honored for outstanding contributions to law enforcement. He was recognized for his hands-on, reality-based training program.
“It’s really an honor. I didn’t expect this at all,” Young said about the Excellence in Training award.
Young, a 16-year veteran of the Mount Vernon Police Department, became the MVPD’s trainer in 2014. He based his curriculum on the Ohio Attorney General’s STEP program (Scenario Training Equipment Program) and then modified it.
In presenting the award, Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth said Young’s training has “enhanced his department’s skills, attracted the interest of other agencies, and strengthened ties with his community.”
“Young’s scenarios are helping Ohio officers develop better judgement and honing their tactics to control operations and drug interdiction,” he said.
In his nomination letter, Assistant Chief Andrew Burns wrote, “Young’s training has become popular with officers throughout the state because they value scenario training, recognize the quality of the instruction, and appreciate the availability of time slots that accommodate all shifts.”
The MVPD has conducted the training annually since 2018.
“It was developed by Lt. Young and is contantly being improved upon by him,” said Police Chief Robert Morgan. “We invite agencies from all over Central Ohio to come and participate. We have a lot of different players, and we’ve had a tremendous amount of good feedback on the relevance of the training.
“Rex does a great job.”
Increasing awareness through community involvement
Young’s emphasis on community involvement is what strikes Mayor Matt Starr.
“Members of the community and media are invited to attend these things to become better aware. That’s one of the things that stood out to me,” Starr said.
Community participation raises awareness about the inherent risk and directly educates the public about various threats.
In a recent training exercise, Young incorporated Mount Vernon Nazarene University students into the scenario. This gave the criminal justice majors valuable experience with course requirements and enabled them to interact with officers and other community volunteers.
“It also introduces them to the range of situations officers face, from traffic stops that turn violent to active shooter emergencies,” Burns said.
