RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY DIRECTOR GREG DOSSEY TO RECEIVE STATE’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Dossey estimated he trained more than 1,050 law enforcement recruits during his 16 years at Hancock
(April 9, 2015) The former longtime director of Allan Hancock College’s law enforcement academy has been awarded a major honor from his peers. The state of California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, better known as POST, has selected Greg Dossey for the 2014 POST Excellent in Training award for Lifetime Achievement.
“I am extremely honored, grateful and humbled,” said Dossey, who retired last December after 16 years with the college. “I was just one member of a team dedicated to a legitimate need to make officers more skilled and physically fit to protect themselves and their communities.”
The POST Excellence in Training awards annually recognize individuals and organizations for outstanding achievements and contributions to law enforcement training. Previously known as the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Peace Officer Training, the awards for training excellence began in 1994. Nominations for the three categories are reviewed each year by the POST Advisory Committee.
“Greg’s recognition is well deserved,” said David Senior, the college’s dean of public safety. “There is no way to know how many officers have gone home safely over the years because of the training Greg developed. His dedication to law enforcement safety through self-defense skills training makes our officers and our streets safer.”
Prior to Hancock, Dossey spent nearly 30 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. He developed the department’s arrest and control course that set standards for all officers hired and trained at LAPD. He has worked with POST for several decades and focused on physical fitness, as well as arrest and control training. POST praised Dossey for having a major impact on self-defense training for law enforcement officers on local, state and global levels.
Dossey said his interest in martial arts and physical fitness allowed him to develop an innovative and unique training program. His program with LAPD includes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and traditional striking techniques just to name a few. Three years after his techniques were introduced, LAPD saw a 35 percent reduction in injuries to suspects and an 18 percent drop in injuries to officers.
“Early on in my career, I realized personal fitness was not only valuable to surviving the job as a police officer, but to surviving the career in the long-run,” said Dossey. “It also became clear the need to train officers on how to handle unarmed, physically-violent people in a manner that is as safe as possible.”
Dossey estimated he trained more than 1,050 law enforcement recruits during his 16
years at Hancock, and another 3,000 while with the Los Angeles Police Department.
He also trained thousands more law enforcement officers as part of their continuing
education.
Dossey said he was often reminded of what he loved most about his job at Hancock’s
law enforcement training academy.
“As is the case with any teacher, seeing students succeed and prosper is incredibly gratifying. I run into former recruits who are now decorated officers, sergeants, deputies and chiefs. My niche just happened to be preparing people for law enforcement careers,” said Dossey.
Currently, Dossey is working as a reserve sergeant with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s office. It turns out his time working with future law enforcement officers is far from over. Dossey will return to Hancock this summer as a part-time law enforcement instructor.
“I loved my time at Hancock. I enjoyed seeing young people, men and women from every ethnic group and background, come into the academy with the dream of becoming a police officer, and leaving with the training and skills needed to begin a career in law enforcement,” said Dossey.
He will be recognized and receive his award at the POST Commission meeting on June 25, 2015, in Universal City.
Caption: Greg Dossey, the former law enforcement academy director at Allan Hancock College, will receive a Lifetime Achievement award from the state’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, better known as POST.
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