Moscow Police Chief Reflects On FBI Training

MOSCOW- Everyday life for Moscow Police Chief James Fry has been about filing paperwork, but last month he returned from an FBI training camp that changed how he wants to run his police department.

Chief James Fry has been on the list since 2007, when he was a sergeant. Moscow’s former Chief, Duke, nominated Fry because of his potential duties in the future. This year was his golden year. The training was held in Washington, D.C. for just over 10 weeks, almost three months and is a special honor for small town chiefs. The National Academy training said it only picks under one percent of its nominations to take the training.

“I am just really honored to do this.”

~ Chief James Fry

While Fry was in the training program with 252 other chiefs from across the country;  he endured over 12 highly academic courses including criminal psychology seminars and wellness classes, but wellness stuck with him.

“I took a spiritual wellness course to understand how I could keep my team healthy is certain situations,” said Fry.

He connected the sudden interest with wellness to the physical tests he had to complete called “The Yellow Brick Road,” that is what the FBI training academy calls the road to get a final certificate after running a 6.1 mile obstacle course.

After Fry ran down the “Yellow Brick Road” of obstacles he was awarded a certificate of completion, which proudly sits near his office desk today.

Upon returning home from the Nation Academy training he met with other chiefs and found new ways to approach certain topics such as mental health and criminal routines.

“I found that this training connected me with others for the future with perspective; We could talk about what works in Moscow, but maybe a different tactic works in Lebanon.” 

~ Chief James Fry

Those connections made in three months have created a safety net as Fry returned back to the Moscow Police Department. Fry has looked into creating a connected police force and surrounding communities.

“I want to use what I learned to help give my department the tools they need to the job.”

~ Chief James Fry.

Chief Fry has made steps to help his department grow and understand that mental safety is important for them as well as the community in this job. Captain Roger Lanier said the chief has great plans to help us in the future.

“I know how much this training means, because I have been through it myself and the chief has a lot of training that can help us for the future.”

~ Captain Roger Lanier

The National Academy training not only educates police chiefs across the country about how to handle situations, but also gives new perspective to how they do their jobs when returning home.

“I think, what it brings home, the job of chief and captains is to take care of our people and give them the tools they need.”

~ Chief James Fry

The National Academy hosts training every year. For more information about how to get involved with your local chief visit your region’s police chapter.