LAPLACE — Nine weeks ago, 22 citizens came to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office with pre-conceived notions.

Most believed policemen were the bad guys, the ones who stopped them and wrote expensive tickets because they have quotas to meet and a Christmas bonus waiting for them if they meet it.

Thursday night those citizens graduated from the first St. John Parish Citizens Academy with crisp new diplomas, a new group of friends and a whole new attitude about their local law enforcement officers.

That’s exactly what Sheriff Mike Tregre was hoping for.

“It exceeded all my expectations,” added Tregre, who has said he has wanted to hold a Citizens Academy for years. “We’ve got a good group of citizens here. They were committed. They came in and learned about us, not just as police officers, but as people.”

Put together by Deputy Burnell Charles Sr., who attended several sessions offered by other sheriff’s departments to tailor the St. John academy, the class members got an up close, behind-the-scenes look at everyday life for law enforcement personnel.

They heard from patrol and traffic officers, narcotics detectives, special operations officers and visited the jail and the 911 call center. They got to experience simulators, but also witnessed a real arrest and watched as an officer volunteered to be tased.

“The simulation got some of y’all,” Tregre said to the group. “Some of y’all won. Narcotics, we took y’all down the rabbit hole. Special ops, we blew some things up.”

When it was over, all 22 members of the class were giving testimonials about how much they had learned.

“I loved it,” said Donna Weber. “You get the concept of what police officers go through every day, the danger they go through every day to protect us.”

Weber was particularly impressed by the 911 operators.

“Those girls are the heart of it all, the first call coming in,” Weber said. “The officers, whether it’s first responders, firemen, policemen, they are the arteries. That was the most impressive part.”

Hattie Alexander said she had thoughts about police officers before she took the course — and none of them were good.

“I had a different outlook,” Alexander said. “At one time I thought all policemen were just (jerks). At the end of the day I learned they all just want to go home to their families. They’ve got some crazy people out there. And I love my sheriff.”

At 18, Jacob Brown was the youngest member of the class.

“I’ve always had a high appreciation for the officers,” Brown said. “I wanted to do it mainly to support them. I also wanted to learn more about the sheriff’s department. You always hear young people say sheriff’s officers are bad because they’ve seen one officer doing something they don’t approve of. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad department.”

Besides the average citizens who signed up for the class, there was St. John Parish Councilman Larry Sorapuru Jr.

“I felt it’s an opportunity to learn exactly what the police officers have to do in the community, what their assignments were,” he said.

“In order to work in the community, you have to clearly understand what police work is all about. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes activity that takes place. It’s not just deputies on the street carrying a gun and writing out tickets.”

Dudley Stadler III took the course to become a better citizen. His wife, Mary, is ready to sign up for the next class.

“It was great,” Stadler said.

“I experienced things I never would have experienced normally. I actually saw a person get tased. I saw someone do a polygraph. I saw the dogs searching for drugs. I learned that a policeman is more than just a person out there giving out tickets. They are actual human beings and heroes.”