[StBernard] Lt. Richard Jackson is 18th St. Bernard deputy to graduate prestigious FBI National Training Academy

[Westley Annis]

Lt. Richard Jackson is 18th St. Bernard deputy to graduate prestigious FBI
National Training Academy
 By NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on February 17, 2013 at 6:54 AM Print


When Lt. Richard Jackson of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office was
attending the FBI's prestigious National Training Academy in Quantico, Va.
late last year for its 10-week session, an odd thing happened - at least by
the standards of American cops.

 "A guy in our class from Afghanistan's wife called to tell him a bomb
exploded and blew all the windows out of their house,'' Jackson said,
recalling the unusual situation.

"He said he told her just to board it up until he got home.''

The Afghanistan officer also "spoke to us about dealing with suicide
bombers'' as if it was a regular thing that could happen any time, Jackson
said.

In all, it was a reality check for a suburban policeman like Jackson, a
narcotics enforcement officer more used to fighting drug-dealers than people
setting off bombs in life-and-death battles with law enforcement.

It was part of what made attending the FBI training class so interesting.

"It opens your eyes to a lot of things,'' said Jackson, who has spent 19
years with the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office. A native of Detroit, he
has lived in St. Bernard 25 years. His wife, Lt. Lisa Jackson, is commander
of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for the Sheriff's Office.

"There are so many people there [at the FBI class], you meet officers from
all over and it's a good chance to learn something from others, contribute
something and take interesting courses like one I had on leadership, ethics
and decision-making,'' said Jackson. You also have the chance to make
invaluable contacts with others.

"At this point in my career it was the best thing that could happen to me,''
Jackson said.

There were 269 officers in his class, including 30 from other countries
including three from African nations. Locally, police from Mandeville,
Bogalusa, East Baton Rouge Parish and Ascension Parish were there with him
from Louisiana.

Jackson had been an undercover security officer for a grocery store chain,
catching shoplifters, when he got to know sheriff's deputies and became
interested in police work. First, he was accepted into the sheriff's Reserve
Division, then became a full-time deputy doing patrol work and eventually
moved into narcotics enforcement.

Jackson said he decided he wanted to work in the Narcotics Unit because,
living in Violet, he was in position to hear about things in that section of
the parish "and I wanted to keep it [drugs] out of my neighborhood.''

"It's been an experience'' dealing with drug cases and has given him the
chance to take "all types of different courses and classes.''

Working drug enforcement is so important, he said, because most property
crime seems to be fueled by people looking for something to steal to feed
their drug addiction.

"If you can stop drug activity you control your crime rate.''

When he graduated the FBI class late last year Jackson was the 18th St.
Bernard sheriff's deputy to be accepted and go through the FBI National
Training Academy.

Sheriff James Pohlmann said Jackson was a worthy selection to attend the FBI
10-week training and also said that for a relatively small department like
St. Bernard's to have had 18 officers selected over the years is a real
compliment.

Established in the 1930s, the training academy is for professional
development of police officers who have attained rank in their local
departments.

As well as being academically interesting, the course is also physically
challenging, with runs that progress to 10 kilometers, 6.2 miles, and
includes 3 miles of an obstacle course.

Jackson, like other St. Bernard officers who previously graduated the FBI
session, said he believes the Sheriff's Office keeps getting invitations for
officers to attend because everyone has done well there and because of
ongoing participation by graduates in the national alumni chapter, the
Louisiana National Academy Association.

St. Bernard is a very active participant in that group, he said.

Jackson said when he took a forensic science class at the FBI training
session there was an enlightening experiment.

The instructor asked for a class member to put up a $5 bill and Jackson
stepped forward. Then the instructor ran the bill through a machine used to
analyze particles and announced the note had traces of cocaine.

Jackson said the point was made that so much of our nation's cash has been
near the day-to-day sale of drugs that when large amounts of money are mixed
together at banks and counting institutions much of it gets left with
residue of cocaine.

Jackson said it was nice when near end of the course a silent auction was
held in the class, which raised $14,000 for the benefit of children of
fallen police officers across the nation.

His wife, Lisa, visited and brought three baskets she made up with Louisiana
products hard to,get in the rest of the country and they all were popular
with bidders, Jackson said.