SFPD officer gets FBI academy education

Sep. 25—Santa Fe police Lt. Thomas Grundler, on the force for nearly two decades, traded in his graveyard shifts for what he described as a college-like environment this summer at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

He recently graduated from the 10-week program, which offers a wide variety of courses to law enforcement officers worldwide who hope to heighten their skills.

"I think the oldest guy in our class was 58. ... I am 52," Grundler said. "It's an interesting prospect when you take a bunch of guys who haven't done that in a very long time and then put them back in that kind of a setting."

Fewer than 1 percent of officers from across the U.S. have an opportunity to attend the program, Santa Fe police said in a news release last week announcing Grundler's achievement.

"It was the best law enforcement training I've ever had, but it was more than that," Grundler said. "It was actually an education, and it really did kind of open my own eyes and challenge my own thinking."

Grundler said his journey to Quantico began in 2018 under former police Chief Andrew Padilla, who encouraged officers to apply to the FBI program.

As a third-generation police officer, Grundler had learned about the academy from his mother when he was a teenager. She considered attending but never went, he said.

When Grundler was presented with the opportunity, he took it.

The selection process wasn't easy. Each state is allotted a certain number of slots for officers to attend the academy, he said, so the seven applicants in Santa Fe weren't just vying for spots against each other, but were competing with police throughout New Mexico.

Grundler underwent a formal interview at the FBI office in Albuquerque.

"They basically look at your work record, [and] they look at you personally," he said. "You have to jump through a lot of hoops of fire to get into the course."

He faced yet another hoop after he was accepted: the coronavirus pandemic.

When he finally arrived in Quantico in June, leaving behind his wife and two young daughters, Grundler discovered some of his fellow students at the academy had been waiting over a decade to attend.

"We had one guy who literally had been trying to get into this academy for 15 years," Grundler said.

"In terms of being gone that long, I've got to thank my wife," he added. "I have identical twin baby girls who had just turned 2 about two weeks before I left for the academy. Quite honestly, I couldn't have done it without [my wife's] support."

The rigorous program included physical training four times a week, multiple two-hour classes each day and informative guest lectures, such as a presentation on the murder of Black youth Emmett Till in 1955 and a firsthand account from a person who was in the White House shelter during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attack.

One of the most beneficial classes Grundler took, he said, was Human Engagement Strategies for Investigations, which offered useful information for both the workplace — not just suspects but also colleagues — and personal life.

"It really teaches you a lot about human behavior, how to interpret outward appearances and things of that nature," Grundler said.

"I've always tried to think outside the box," he said, "but sometimes you don't realize that you did at one point, but then you built a new box. ... You gotta constantly strive to challenge yourself."

Grundler and his classmates graduated Sept. 13. His wife could not make it to the ceremony with the couple's two toddlers, he said, so his adult daughter, her longtime friend and Santa Fe Chief Paul Joye were his guests.

Joye said it was an honor to attend the graduation.

"I've never been a part of something like this," Joye said. "To see kind of what they go through and get a little history of what the class has been dealing with through their 10 weeks ... it was a neat thing to be a part of, and good for me to get better insight."

While Grundler said it was an honor to graduate from the academy and shake hands with FBI Director Christopher Wray, the best part of the experience was learning from his classmates.

"The things you learn from your classmates is just so enlightening," Grundler said. "It is an honor to be among those men and women, and [learn] what they're doing in their own communities."

Now that he is back in

Santa Fe, Grundler said, he hopes to bring some of what he learned about mental wellness to the department. He also hopes more officers from Santa Fe will have an opportunity to learn at the FBI Academy.

"The last person I believe we sent was in 1989, and that's kind of a shame," Grundler said. "We need to be pushing to send more of our people to this course because I really think it's not just helpful — I almost think it's essential."