Forest Police Department officer Donna Chapman was named “Top Cop” out of over 40 officer trainees at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy (LEOTA) graduation on July 25.
The designation “Top Cop” refers to the officer that earned the right to graduate at the top of their training class during the 12-week law enforcement training program.
Officer Chapman is a native of Newton and was hired by FPD in September of 2018. She has been on patrol with FPD while she waited to attend officer training at LEOTA, and when her time came, she excelled in every part of the law enforcement training program.
She attended the MS LEOTA in Pearl for the 12-week training. During the three-month program new officers are training in all facets of law enforcement while being graded out in Physical Fitness, Firearms Training and Academics. Chapman finished in the top-five of all three categories at the academy.
Forest Police Chief Will Jones said Chapman’s accomplishment has made the police department and the City of Forest proud.
“Officer Chapman was a great representative for Forest PD and our city at the training academy,” Jones said. “Her success and accomplishments during the 12 weeks of training is not all that surprising to me, but being named ‘Top Cop’ brought a sense of pride to FPD and Forest.”
The members of Training Class 261 were not informed who had won the prestigious honor of being named Top Cop prior to graduation, and no one was as surprised as officer Chapman when her named was announced.
“They didn’t tell us anything about who was top of the class before the graduation ceremony,” Chapman said. “When my name was announced I was really surprised. I felt an immediate sense of honor to be named Top Cop for class 261.”
In addition to being named top of her class, Chapman was recognized for her achievements in each of the three graded categories at the training academy. She was named to the Top 5 in all three categories.
Chief Jones said that Chapman did a great job for FPD during her time on the force before attending training, and he looks for that to only continue moving forward
“We are very fortunate to have Officer Chapman working with us here in Forest, and we are planning on keeping her at FPD for a long time to come,” Jones said. “To make it through the 12 weeks of training at the top of her class really says a lot about her, it speaks volumes as to her character and ability.”
Chapman is already back on patrol in Forest fresh off her graduation and said there is nowhere she would rather be.
“I absolutely love it here,” she said. “I want to thank Chief Will Jones and the Forest Police Department for the opportunity to represent Forest and the police department at training.
“The honor of being named Top Cop is not something I take lightly,” Chapman said. “I will be an officer that serves with dignity and distinction, and I look forward to serving and protecting the people of Forest.”
