Gatlinburg Police Captain Graduates From FBI Academy

A Captain with the Gatlinburg Police Department has a new feather in his cap. Seth Butler, the public information officer for the Gatlinburg PD says that Captain Ronnie Barrett completed the requirements for graduation from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia on December 8. Captain Barrett along with other graduates underwent 10 weeks of advanced communications, leadership and fitness training. Barrett was one of 237 law enforcement officers from 49 states and the District of Columbia to graduate from the 248th session of the FBI Academy. Nationally, less than one percent of officers have the opportunity to attend the FBI Academy. since the academy began in 1935, the FI says a total of 53,908 individuals have completed the training and graduated. Barrett is the third officer in the history of the Gatlinburg Police Department to graduate from the FBI Academy. Ronnie Barrett is a native of Newport and had been with the Gatlinburg police force for the last 27 years.