They came in as civilians in February and left as court officers in June. Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks administered the oath of office to the 222 recruits at the Christian Community Center in Flatlands, Brooklyn recently and the new officers have been sent to courthouses throughout New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and the Ninth Judicial District. Besides being the inaugural class at the New York State Unified Court System Captain William Thompson, Sgt. Thomas Jurgens, Sgt. Mitchel Wallace Court Officers Academy in Crown Heights, this class was the largest ever and the first class downstate since 2017. Their training consisted of daily classroom instruction, defensive tactics, physical training and role playing where they utilize classroom skills in controlled, real-life scenarios. Court officer recruits took classes in criminal and constitutional law, tactical communication and defensive tactics, as well as receiving driver and firearms training. The 177 men and 45 women in the class learned basic life support, CPR and how to administer Narcan for overdose victims, skills that Chief of Training Joseph Baccellieri, Jr. called "the most important skills needed to sustain life until medics arrive." But beyond the classroom instruction, Baccellieri noted in his speech that service to others is the most important part of their training and their job. "When we go out and do our job, every decision we make is for the benefit of the people we serve and to assure that the court environment is safe and impartial for the administration of justice," Baccellieri told the graduates and their families.