Three officers graduate from police academy

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois Police Department is welcoming three new police officers who graduated from the police academy Thursday.

Officers Mohamed Alsaqri, Michael Mitrou and Christopher Williams graduated on Thursday from the University of Illinois Police Training Institute. On Monday, they will begin the field training process, during which they will be paired with training officers who will spend several months helping them to further refine their skills and abilities.

Officer Alsaqri is a Champaign resident who previously worked as a substitute teacher at Unit 4 schools. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Officer Mitrou is originally from Chicago and moved to central Illinois. He has been employed at the Illinois Air National Guard since 2012, is an Air Force veteran and served in Operation Freedom Sentinel from October 2016 to January 2017. 

Officer Williams lives near Champaign and was previously employed as a delivery driver for UPS. He served as a squad leader for the other recruits during their 14-week training course at the police academy.

“These officers will bring their unique and valuable skills to our team at the University of Illinois Police Department,” said Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Craig Stone. “They showed commitment and dedication during their time at the academy and were leaders among their peers. I know they look forward to serving the campus community.”