The Police Officers Journal
First Collin Birnie Scholarship Award recipient honored to be recognized — By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor
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or years Collin Birnie handed out awards on behalf of the POLC to help non-sponsored Police Cadets pay the costs of attending Law Enforcement Regional Training Academy (LERTA). This year, a scholarship award was presented in the POLC/GELC Executive Committee member’s honor, following his untimely death in a February traffic accident. Cadet Jeffrey Wagner is the first recipient of the Collin Birnie Scholarship Award. He was awarded with $1,000 April 28 during the Mott Community College police academy graduation. “This is the first graduation we’ve had in-person at the location where we usually do it since COVID began,” said Kitty Severance, LERTA Staff Assistant, referring to guests being able to attend. Graduations, which have been livestreamed since 2020, had previously been limited to cadets and staff in a smaller venue. The Collin Birnie Scholarship Award, which is sponsored by the Police Officers Labor Council (POLC), will be given twice yearly at the discretion of the police academy to graduates who have not been sponsored by any police agency. To qualify, cadets must pass the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) certification test and meet MCOLES employment standards to become certified Michigan Law Enforcement Officers. Wagner graduated the academy in the 96 percentile. “He was the highest scoring scholastic achievement recruit,” said LERTA Director Lt. David Livingston. Wagner was hired as a Genesee County Sheriff’s Deputy after graduation, but his career with the department began in 2018 as a Corrections Officer. He began Criminal Justice coursework at Schoolcraft College and transferred to University of Michigan Dearborn
Photo courtesy of LERTA
POLC/GELC Executive Committee member Leigh Golden, left, presents LERTA Cadet Jeffrey Wagner with the first Collin Birnie Scholarship Award.
where he’s in the process of completing his bachelor’s degree. During academy training, he had to take a leave from work. “(The award) was appreciated and very helpful,” Wagner said. “Apart from the monetary portion, just receiving the award was nice because it was in Collin Birnie’s name. I was honored. I know Collin Birnie was a great guy and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone to say anything bad about him.” Wagner said he had met Birnie a couple times and while he didn’t know him well, his reputation preceded him. “I know people who work at Flint PD who knew him well and I just heard stories about him, how he was willing to help out everybody,” Wagner said. “I knew a lot of people who always talked highly of him and so I felt like I knew him through other people. You almost didn’t have to know him personally, he was such a big figure.” d
Weiler Scholarship Award recipient exceeds every metric at Oakland Police Academy — By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor
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akland Police Academy graduate BreAna Steinbauer’s achievements and positive outlook made her the standout choice for the Richard R. Weiler Scholarship Award. “I think part of it was she exceeded every metric in the academy for physical fitness and academics,” said Oakland Police Academy Director David Ceci. “Her personality helped a lot too. You could throw some curve balls at her and her positive attitude was contagious. She had a smile most of the time.” The Richard R. Weiler Scholarship Award, which is sponsored by the Police Officers Labor Council (POLC), is given twice yearly at the discretion of the college police academy to graduates who have not been sponsored by any police agency. To qualify for the $500 Award, cadets must pass the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) certification test and meet MCOLES employment standards to become certified Michigan Law Enforcement Officers. 6 • FALL 2022
Steinbauer was chosen from among the 31 non-sponsored cadets who graduated in the class of 53 recruits June 2, 2022. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with a minor in Forensics Investigations and Policing from Wayne State University. Oakland Police Academy presented the 21-year-old with the Top Academic Award for receiving the best overall grade point average, 3.95 GPA, and the $500 Physical Excellence Scholarship. A Police Cadet with Port Huron Police Department for two years, she was hired as a Port Huron Police Officer. “I was sworn in June 6, 2022, but I got the job offer in August 2021,” she said. “I was a Cadet from July 2020 up until the end of the police academy. I trained the new cadets on the weekends during the academy.” Director Ceci was impressed Steinbauer wanted to focus her career on child crimes. “When someone has the passion for that, she really Continued bottom of page 8