Introducing our New Staff

MACLEA welcomes aboard new staff members!

Jim Weber

Jim Weber is an Instructor with Mineral Area College, Criminal Justice Department and the Law Enforcement Academy. Jim earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice at Southeast Missouri State University and is currently working toward his Master's in Criminal Justice.

Jim is a retired Special Agent with 22 years of experience working for the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. Prior to becoming a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Jim was a special agent with the United States Customs Service and a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Academy in Glynco, Georgia. He has extensive investigative experience in international narcotics smuggling and trafficking, money laundering, criminal gang activity, national security and domestic and international terrorism. Jim was a Certified Undercover Operative with the Department of Homeland Security and has substantial experience in undercover investigations. Jim had lengthy assignments to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force, as well as their Violent Crime Safe Streets Task Force. With local, state and federal experience, Jim has 30 years overall law enforcement and investigative experience.

Jim joined MACLEA in 2022 as a full-time instructor for our criminal justice and academy students. Prior to that, he was an adjunct instructor with the MAC law enforcement academy.

Jason Fitzwater

Jason has been an adjunct instructor for MACLEA since 2006 but was hired as a full-time academy instructor in January 2023.

Jason Fitzwater – is a 2001 graduate of the law enforcement academy in Bradenton, Florida. Jason began his career with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy, FTO, Homicide Detective, and SWAT team member. Jason became a firearms instructor in 2006, and spent twelve years of his career in Florida. In 2012, Jason moved back home to Missouri where he worked for the Fredericktown Police Department. While at Fredericktown Jason worked as a patrol officer, FTO, Detective, Patrol Sergeant, and formed the agency's SWAT team. Jason has been an adjunct instructor at Mineral Area College since 2013 specializing in patrol tactics, and firearms. In 2018, Jason started his own company and has traveled all over North America training thousands of law enforcement officers in counter ambush, firearms, and active shooter courses. Jason retired as a Chief of Police in 2020.

Big Changes for MACLEA

Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy is transitioning into 2025 with big changes.

Staffing Changes

Our staff at MACLEA looks a little different today than it did in 2022. We lost two members of the MACLEA team that had devoted a combined 35 years of service to our training facility, Giovanni Carollo and Dr. Rich Flotron.

Lieutenant Giovanni Carollo retired in June 2022 after serving Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy for 15 years. Before coming to MACLEA, Gio served four years in the U.S. Marines and 24 years as a law enforcement officer. It’s safe to say he has earned his retirement, and we wish him all the best!

After 20 impactful years at Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy, Dr. Rich Flotron has left the college to pursue new opportunities. We are incredibly grateful for his years of service and dedication to our students and community. While we miss his presence at the academy, we are excited to see what he accomplishes in this next chapter. For any academy-related inquiries, please direct your questions to Doug Ruess or one of our administrative assistants.

We were fortunate to hire Steven Capps, a new staff member who is a tremendous asset to our program. You can read more about him and our instructors here.

CLEE Courses

In 2025, we are taking our continuing education courses to the next level. We provide monthly courses designed to benefit everyday law enforcement officers. This year, we are offering POST Instructor Development, 24-Hour CORE School, CIT Training, Basic Patrol Rifle, Firearms Instructor Development, Firearms Instructor Development Refresh, Patrol Rifle Instructor, and Patrol Rifle Instructor Refresh.

With a variety of courses tailored to enhance skills and knowledge, we are committed to supporting the professional growth of law enforcement officers. Be sure to check our schedule frequently as we continue to add new offerings throughout the year.

MO Blue Scholarship

In October 2022, Governor Mike Parson announced the Missouri Blue Scholarship for the '24-'25 school year.

The Missouri Blue Scholarship is a law enforcement basic training academy scholarship that makes $5,000 available for each selected non-sponsored* law enforcement academy recruit to help cover the cost of attending a Missouri basic training academy. The Missouri Blue Scholarship is a law enforcement basic training academy scholarship that makes $5,000 available for each selected non-sponsored* law enforcement academy recruit to help cover the cost of attending a Missouri basic training academy. To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must FIRST apply to a basic training academy (or if currently enrolled in an academy, the scholarship application must be received before graduation).

*A non-sponsored law enforcement academy recruit is one whose tuition is not being paid by a law enforcement agency. Recruits who attend an academy affiliated with a law enforcement agency and do not pay tuition are not eligible for this scholarship.

Governor Mike Parson included, and the Missouri General Assembly approved, a total of $1 million in Missouri Blue Scholarship funding in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget.

We are proud to have had the majority of our '23-'24 MACLEA students receive this scholarship to attend our academy. We hope to see it approved it again for '24-'25.

New Website

Welcome to the new MACLEA website! Feel free to click around and familiarize yourself with our new features.

Law Enforcement Academy

If you are interested in our Law Enforcement Academy, please read through the information provided in the Law Enforcement Academy tab and our Frequently Asked Questions. If you feel like the police academy is right for you, you can complete the Academy application online. If you don't find the answers to your questions online, please reach out by phone, email, or stop by! We are happy to assist you in your new journey of becoming a Law Enforcement Officer.

CEH Courses

If you are a POST-certified police officer looking for CEH courses, please check out our CEH Courses tab to see the current schedule. New classes are added often, so keep checking back! If there is a class you're looking for, please send us a message, and we will see what we can do to add it to the schedule.

New to the website: If you have found a CEH course that you would like to register for, you will notice that you will be prompted to create an account. This new feature will allow you to log in and keep track of your upcoming and past courses.

Unfortunately, we can no longer accept payments online, though we hope to in the future. When paying for your course, we accept cash, checks, and money orders; cards are accepted in person or over the phone. When registering for your class, you will be prompted to enter a mailing address or an email address to receive your invoice; in most cases, your invoice will be sent out the same day to the address or email address listed.

If you encounter any issues with the website, please let us know so we can look into them. We hope this new site will be a positive step toward the future success of MACLEA, and we look forward to connecting with you both online and in person!