New Columbia officers give a helping hand before hitting the street

Courtney Wise spent Monday filling shopping carts at Harvest Hope Food Bank with groceries for folks in need as part of her preparation for becoming a Columbia police officer.

Wise and four colleagues are the fifth group of recruits to go through Beyond the Badge, a program that aims to help them learn about the communities they’re going to patrol.

“These are the people we’re going to be serving on a day-to-day basis,” said Wise,22. “We’re just making sure we know the people that we’re serving.”

Since the program started in August, 36 officers – including the five in Wise’s group – completed it, according to police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons.

Deputy Chief Melron Kelly said the program gives officers skills that stick with them throughout their careers. “This goes a long way in building trust and legitimacy in the community,” he said.

But for the five officers working at the food bank, Beyond the Badge wasn’t their introduction to the community.

As their training started, the group worked with other officers handling the demands of the flood last October, Kelly said.

“We got to jump in with both feet and hit the ground running,” said James Webster, 30.

Ash Little, marketing manager for the food bank, said the program is a good way for the officers to start their careers while benefiting Harvest Hope as well.

“We serve about 66,000 families every month, so we need a lot of volunteers,” Little said. “It’s very helpful for the officers to come out and volunteer. Plus it’s good for the Columbia community in general, for people to see actual police officers here volunteering. It just creates a good vibe in the community.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 6:17 PM with the headline "New Columbia officers give a helping hand before hitting the street."