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Wheeling Police Officer Receives Special Training at FBI National Academy

By SHELLEY HANSON 4 min read

WHEELING - A member of the Wheeling Police Department recently attended a special leadership training program hosted by the FBI in Quantico, Virginia.

Wheeling Police Department Lt. Joshua Sanders was among a chosen group of law enforcement officers from departments across the United States to attend the FBI National Academy. Sanders has been with the Wheeling Police Department for 17 years.

The program included about 11 weeks of training on a variety of topics. Sanders chose to take classes on emotional intelligence, officer wellness, breaking barriers and building communities, forensics and more.

"None of the training we got was about how to be an FBI agent. It was all about policing in America. The FBI hosted the training. It was a collaborative effort between the FBI and the local law enforcement agencies," he said Monday.

"There were officers there from every state across the country and from 25 to 30 different countries including Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Austria and Singapore."

Sanders said he learned a lot from the other officers attending the academy such as how they are dealing with recruiting and retaining officers and how to combat homelessness.

"I am so proud of Lt. Josh Sanders," said Wheeling Police Department Chief Shawn Schwertfeger. "I knew when I sent him to Quantico that he would excel, and he certainly has not let me down.

"Lt. Sanders is now one of the roughly 1% of all sworn law enforcement professionals throughout the United States who can proudly say they are FBI National Academy graduates," Schwertfeger continued. "We are happy to have him back in Wheeling and at work. He is a true asset to the Wheeling Police Department, our greater community and is a joy to supervise."

During the course of the program, Sanders and his fellow classmates decided to help a boy battling cancer reach his goal of becoming an honorary police officer in departments across the nation.

Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel, 11, of Pearland, Texas, was invited to attend a swearing-in ceremony during the academy. Sanders was given the honor of conducting the ceremony. He believes DJ is the first person to be named an honorary Wheeling Police Department officer in the department's history. The boy was also given a key to the city of Wheeling.

Sanders said DJ decided he wanted to become a police officer after receiving help from officers after a hurricane. He and his family were left homeless and living in a storm shelter, which is where he met the officers.

"The officers that worked in that shelter had a huge impact on DJ. Six months later he was diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live," Sanders said.

The type of cancer DJ has is anaplastic ependymoma, which impacts the spine and brain.

DJ's initial goal was to get sworn into 100 law enforcement agencies. He has since surpassed that goal. His goal now is to reach his late friend's goals of hitting 758 departments. His friend, Abigail, lost her battle to cancer.

"He does it to remember officers killed in the line of duty and his friends who had cancer and died," Sanders said of DJ's drive.

Sanders said he got to spend some time on stage with DJ before the swearing in took place.

"He loves corny dad jokes. ... He stole the show," Sanders said. "He's a lot of fun. He's a riot to be around. He's a ball of energy; these events give him energy and motivate him."

Sanders said he was honored to be a part of the presentation for DJ.

"He's motivating and inspiring. He totally inhabits the core values of what it means to be a police officer," he said.

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