FENTON, Mo. (KMOX) - Thursday night was a special night for new police recruits and it was extra meaningful for one graduate in particular.
Jaylan Valentine was among 21 recruits who endured to the end of St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy and graduated the academy after six months of training at Mariz Theater in Fenton, Missouri Thursday night.
Valentine was the son of fallen St. Louis County Police officer Antonio Valentine, who was killed in the line of duty in a motor vehicle crash that occurred in North St. Louis County back in 2021.
Eric Ster, who served as class supervisor for the Academy, tells KMOX it's great to see family tradition alive in the force.
"Just this class alone, there's another officer now that just graduated, his father is a police officer for St. Louis County as well," said Ster. "He works in the City of Jennings and his son now will be going to the 1st precinct, so it happens quite often with family relative carrying on the torch. It's always nice to see family tradition carrying on."
11 of the 21 that graduated were sworn in as St. Louis County Officers with 10 of them being men and one woman.
During the ceremonies, there was also a special dedication to Office James Ellis, who was killed driving home after a scheduled shift in 2019 by a wrong way driver. Ellis was a Marine, Iraq War Veteran, and left behind a wife and five children.