NONPROFIT Pearland Citizens Police AcademyAlumni Association Nonpro t prepares for annual run after pandemic-forced two-year pause A fter a two-year hiatus, the Pear Run is set to make its return to the city of Pearland in early May. The PCPAAA has three roles: aiding the police department with training, such as if the police department BY ANDY YANEZ
The 2022 Pear Run will o er a 5K run. In prior years, it also held a 10K option. PHOTOS COURTESY HEATHER BAKER
FUNDRAISER VICTORIES
The Pearland Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association’s fundraisers have helped provide items to the Pearland Police Department over the years. This list is not comprehensive.
needs actors for Special Weapons and Tactics or K-9 training; educating the community; and collecting monetary donations, Pyeatt said. The alumni association holds two big fundraising events each year: the Pear Run and a gun ra e in the fall, which usually starts in October. The nonpro t works closely with Pearland police to identify items the depart- ment could use and are not covered in its usual budget, Pyeatt said. In the past, funds raised by the PCPAAA have helped provide the police department with K-9 units and their training, bikes, rain coats, and tourniquets, Baker said. The Pear Run in May will be the 16th year the event is held in the city, Pyeatt said. The event started in the mid-2000s with only 34 runners and has grown to see as many as 2,000 runners, Pyeatt added. This year’s Pear Run, which will take place May 7, will be held at Indepen- dence Park. Baker said she is excited to see the PCPAAAmove back to the run’s origins after the hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The last run was held in 2019, Baker said. “With all the improvements [at Independence Park] and everything, we feel like it [is] bringing it back home because that is where it started,” Baker said.
Billy Pyeatt, the president of the Pearland Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, the nonpro t behind the event, said he is excited to bring the 5K run back. “It’s the one thing that is near and dear to my heart just because it is a fun event to put on,” Pyeatt said. “It brings the community together.” The PCPAAA is a group of about 200 members who have all graduated from the Pearland Police Department’s citizen police academy, said Heather Baker, rst-year director for the PCPAAA. The academy launched in 1995 and has seen over 1,200 commu- nity members pass the course. “It’s like a mini police academy,” Pyeatt said. The 14-week course—held twice a year in every spring and fall—allows the community to meet the o cers who teach the classes and provides a way for there to be more eyes on the streets, Pyeatt said. The program teaches residents about patrol procedures, criminal investigations and crisis intervention, among other topics. The academy does not certify members as law enforcement o cers. Once members of the public pass the course, they become eligible to join the nonpro t, Pyeatt said.
K-9 units and training
Bikes
Peary is the Pearland Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association’s mascot.
Aid for drone program
Aid for mobile command unit
Jackets
The Pear Run has grown from 34 runners to thousands.
Peary watches the runners at 2019’s Pear Run.
Pearland Citizens PoliceAcademyAlumni Association 2555 Cullen Parkway, Pearland 281-997-4183 www.pcpaaa.com
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