IUPD officer earns prestigious academy award

The IU Police Department has reason to be proud this week. Their newest officer, Curtis “Jake” Cole, a war veteran with a long list of accolades, was voted by his peers to receive the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy’s Herman H. Freed Award.

The award he earned is intended to honor an individual who has demonstrated “integrity, loyalty, ethics and attitude.”

“I moved to Bloomington to attend IU because of the history and traditions of the campus,” Cole said in a press release. “I hadn’t planned on staying, but once here, I really couldn’t see myself living anywhere else.”

Cole graduated from the Academy on April 13 and began patrols for IUPD on Tuesday. This follows his service in the United States Marine Corps that began in 2001 and earned him multiple medals and ribbons, including the Iraq Campaign Medal and Good Conduct Medal. He served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan in communications.

“We are proud of Officer Cole’s accomplishments while at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy,” said IUPD Chief Keith Cash in a press release. “Officer Cole has served his country with three tours of duty in Iraq and demonstrates great leadership ability. He will soon finish his degree at IU as he joins the full-time ranks of our uniformed officers.

He makes an outstanding addition to our police department.”

The award is given each year and is named after the first director of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

— Mary Kenney