Copyright © 2005 NLThomas
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News from the Cherokee Nation, OK
Copyright © 2005 CNO
TAHLEQUAH, OK - Two Cherokee Nation Marshal Service officers recently returned home with honors from a tribal officer training program in New Mexico. Patti Buhl and Clorissa Pitts both graduated at the top of their class of 37 law enforcement officers.
From L to R: Cherokee Nation Marshals Patti Buhl and Clorissa Pitts pose with an Indian Police Accademy flag while in training in Artesia, New Mexico. Both officers graduated from the accademy with honors. 
"The Cherokee Nation Marshal Service is very proud of both Marshal Pitts and Marshal Buhl for their professionalism and dedication while continuing to raise the bar for those who have chosen to follow in their footsteps in the future," said Donnie Bowin, lieutenant with the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Policy Academy in Artesia, New Mexico is a 16-week training course that places tribal officers in simulated situations that they will be faced with while on the job.
"The academy is tough to get into," Bowin said. "It’s excellent training. There is a lot to learn about being a (Cherokee Nation) Marshal and this is a great way to learn it."
"It was the most intensive training I’ve ever been to," Pitts said. "It was very valuable."
Buhl, 34, of Tahlequah, earned the fitness achievement award and the driver’s training award while at the academy. Buhl says her physical training at the Marshal Service helped her to prepare for the academy.
"It helps to know what to expect," Buhl said. "I was used to running and lifting weights."
Pitts, 24, of Fort Gibson, is the first female ever to qualify as an expert in the practical pistol course.
"It was a great accomplishment," Pitts said.
Buhl joined the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service in May of 2004 after serving on both the University Hospital Police Department in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and the Yukon Police Department in Yukon, Oklahoma. She holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and criminal justice from Northeastern State University.
Pitts has been with the Marshal Service for two and a half years. She started as a dispatcher, and then advanced to a reserve officer before making a full-time Marshal in May of 2004 while attending college at Northeastern State University.
Both officers graduated from the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service Field Training Officer Program prior to entering the academy.
| Related Cherokee Nation contact information: |
|
Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |