For Winston Edmondson, a career in law enforcement was a long-held ambition that he hoped his sons would inherit.
The proud dad’s dream was destined to come true when he and his son, Christian, enrolled at a Texas police academy together.
With a combined age of 65, the Edmondsons graduated on Nov. 20, becoming the first father-son duo to graduate Tarrant County College Law Enforcement Academy side by side, to the academy’s recollection, KTVT reported.
“I had been thinking about getting into law enforcement and I had been encouraging both my sons to get into law enforcement,” Winston told KTVT.
“My dad and I are really competitive,” added Christian. “This academy was good for both of us, I think, because it kinda gave us a bond.”
Winston joked that there were a few times he “got the better” of his son, admitting that it didn’t happen often.
Posting about their shared achievement on Facebook, Winston wrote: “For the last 5 months we’ve been getting up at 4:30 a.m. and driving to Fort Worth together. We’ve been listening, learning, and debating together.”
“We’ve been running, rowing, and grappling,” the proud father continued. “And we’ve been studying, sometimes all night long, to pass those tricky academy tests.”
“Today, we passed our Texas peace officer licensing exam and graduated from the academy. It’s time for the next phase of our law enforcement career,” he said.
Winston added that he will cherish the memories he has built with his son.
After graduating together, the tight-knit duo parted ways to consider employment with two different branches of the Texas police.
Christian was sworn in to the Flower Mound Police Department on Nov. 19. Winston is considering offers.
“As we all know, police officers are entering a very turbulent time in our society,” Damon Ing of the Tarrant County College Law Enforcement Academy told KTVT. “[I]t was very refreshing that a father and son duo wanted to actually come.”
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