Police Captain Attends FBI National Academy

By Andrew Gorosko

Captain Joe Rios, the second-in-command at the Newtown Police Department, has graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, which provides executive-level investigative, management, and physical fitness training for law enforcement officers.

Capt Rios, 42, who recently returned from the ten-week leadership training program at Quantico, Va., told Police Commission members July 5, “It was a life-altering experience.”

The college-level courses provided an academic education, physical fitness training, and opportunities for networking with the 254 people who participated in the program, the captain said. Participants came from across the United States and 24 countries.

“I was very fortunate,” Capt Rios said, noting that he was able to focus his energies on academy studies without facing the day-to-day responsibilities of his captaincy in Newtown.

“I was very grateful and honored to be there,” he said, adding that it was difficult for him to be away from his family for an extended period.

The 221st session of the FBI National Academy concluded on June 10. Police Chief Michael Kehoe attended the graduation ceremonies. The academy conducts four sessions each year.

“It is very selective,” Chief Kehoe said of academy participation. Chief Kehoe nominated Capt Rios for academy participation, with the Police Commission’s concurrence.

Only 12 academy student openings are available to the municipal police departments in Connecticut each year. The last Newtown police officer to attend the academy was Owen Carney, who participated in 1992. Mr Carney, who was a lieutenant when he attended, went on to become a captain. Mr Carney retired from the police department in 1999.

Of Capt Rios’ work at the academy, Chief Kehoe said, “I know he studied hard.”

“It gives him certain unique tools to be an administrator and a manager,” Chief Kehoe said. The police department always seeks to improve the skills of its members, the chief added.

Capt Rios’ academy training will have a significant effect on his professional and his personal life, the chief said. Such training provides police officers with knowledge on how best to balance the professional, social, and familial components of their lives, he said.

“You want to be a holistic person, as well as a professional police officer,” Chief Kehoe said.

Curriculum

The FBI National Academy is affiliated with and accredited through the University of Virginia. While there, Capt Rios earned 17 college credits in three undergraduate and three graduate-level courses.

Among his studies, Capt Rios took a course in labor law issues, as they affect law enforcement agencies.

The captain also studied stress management, as it applies to law enforcement. The course concerned stress management on a professional and personal level through a knowledge of stress dynamics.

Capt Rios also studied human behavior, as well as interaction within organizations and within teams.

One course addressed organizational communication for law enforcement executives.

Another instructional program concerned leadership skills, with an emphasis on “enlightened leadership.”

 “All these courses focused on the ‘best practices’ in law enforcement,” Capt Rios said.

 The captain took a physical fitness course designed for law enforcement personnel. The program included calisthenics, fitness training, and nutrition. It culminated in a 91/2  mile run.

Capt Rios has been a member of the Newtown Police Department since 1990, starting work as a patrol officer. In 1994, Mr Rios became the department’s first school resource officer, working at Newtown High School and Newtown Middle School.

The Police Commission promoted him to the rank of sergeant in 1997. In May 2000, he was named acting police captain by the commission. He was promoted to the rank of captain in June 2001.

Before becoming a Newtown police officer, Capt Rios worked as a police officer at Fairfield Hills when it was still a functioning state mental institution. Prior to that, he worked as a deputy sheriff specializing in prisoner transport.

Capt Rios graduated from Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., in 1985, with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He graduated from Immaculate High School in Danbury.