By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor

Law Enforcement Regional Training Academy (LERTA) Cadet Joshua Billings completed his academy training with the highest overall score among non-agency sponsored recruits in his class, earning the Collin Birnie Scholarship Award.

The 22-year-old graduated May 1, 2024 with a 96 percentile. He was one of three non-sponsored cadets in a graduating class of 21 recruits. “We started this session with three pre-service and 18 in-service,” said Kitty Severance, LERTA Staff Assistant. “They have now all been hired.”

“I was blessed to receive this award,” Billings said. “It couldn’t be more of an honor. I want to say thank you to Captain Birnie’s daughters who gave me the award at graduation.”

The $500 Collin Birnie Scholarship Award, which is sponsored by the Police Officers Labor Council (POLC), is named in honor of the fallen POLC Executive Committee member. It’s given twice yearly at the discretion of the police academy to graduates who have not been sponsored by any police agency. To qualify, cadets must pass the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement (MCOLES) certification test and meet MCOLES employment standards for certified Michigan Law Enforcement Officers.  

Billings grew up with an interest in law enforcement, but admits he got sidetracked. “My family didn’t necessarily want me to go into the field,” he said. “I was a computer intern from seventh to twelfth grades. Throughout that time, I thought I was going into the technology field.”

After working a year in technology positions after high school, he decided to return to his original plan to pursue law enforcement. His family is now very supportive and proud of his decision to become a law enforcement officer.

Photo courtesy of LERTA LERTA graduate Joshua Billings (center) was presented with the Collin Birnie Scholarship Award by Birnie’s daughters, Marista Dryden (left) and Bailey Ramirez.

“I was still always thinking about it. The changing point for me was when I got out of high school and realized I didn’t want to spend another 25 years behind a desk,” he said. “I applied for Milford Police in May 2021 as a Cadet.”

Billings spent the next two years working the front desk, helping with LEIN work, personal protection orders and various administrative tasks, as well as booking prisoners and performing hourly prisoner checks. “It was a really good stepping stone to learn how the department operated and get hands on experience and learning as much as I could from the officers,” he said. “I was thinking I would work for Milford PD, but there were not a lot of openings.”

He earned his associates degree in General Studies from Washtenaw Community College, taking classes focused on Criminal Justice and Computer Systems Networking. Billings left his Milford Cadet position in December 2023 to become a LERTA Cadet in January 2024, pushing himself to excel.

“To be able to receive this award for being this high academically was really surprising,” he said, noting that his GPA at LERTA was better than in high school. “It felt really good to get that award today. I did a lot of work prior to this. Out of a class of 21, being one of the three cadets that didn’t have a job, it definitely motivated me to better than my peers. I wanted to look good for potential departments to hire me.”

His plan paid off when he was hired as a Fenton Police Officer, starting in mid-May. He sees the job as coming full circle since he lived in Fenton Township as a young child and enjoyed watching police cars in town and during parades.

“I was just fascinated with police from a young age and I wanted to go somewhere where I had some kind of connection,” he said. “Some of my earliest memories are in Fenton, so it will be really nice to go back. My extended family is there. I will be the first generation in my family in law enforcement. My grandad on my dad’s side (James Billings) was in the Army.”

He’s thankful for the support of family, friends and the other two pre-service LERTA Cadets, Gabe Burroughs and Marshall Nolff. 

“They equally deserve as much credit as I do,” Billings said. “The academy was tough and having the support of my family and friends gave me motivation to keep doing it.”