Amar'e Stoudemire graduates Miami-Dade police academy, joins school police Former NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire graduated from the Miami-Dade Police Academy after nearly 11 months of training and will join the county's school police department. Amar'e Stoudemire, a six-time NBA All-Star and newly inducted Basketball Hall of Famer, graduated Wednesday from the Miami-Dade Police Academy after nearly 11 months of rigorous training and will join the county's school police department. The Miami Dade College School of Justice announced the graduation, noting Stoudemire received the Harry Coach Everett Award for his contributions to the success of the academy program throughout his training. Amar'e Stoudemire made his mark on the basketball court, the college said. A six-time NBA All-Star, 2003 Rookie of the Year and newly inducted Basketball Hall of Famer, he played for some of the league's biggest teams, including our very own Miami Heat.Amar'e Stoudemire Pursues Lifelong AmbitionToday, he's celebrating a very different milestone: graduating from the MDC School of Justice Basic Law Enforcement Academy after months of rigorous training. Stoudemire, 43, spent five seasons with the New York Knicks from 2010 to 2015 and revealed that becoming a police officer had been a lifelong ambition. I remember back when I was in grade school, elementary school, he said. They asked you on career day, What do you want to be when you grow up?And my initial response was a police officer. It runs in the family, he added. My uncle was a captain. His brother was a deputy.My cousin is a captain. My sister's in the academy. So, it's a family tradition, basically. The former first round draft pick spent nearly 11 months in the academy, which featured classroom sessions and prime military training drills that he described as more physically demanding than the NBA.Physical Demands Of Police Academy TrainingHe said the training included running long distances, push-ups, barracks crawls, squats and lunges, all in formation. Yeah, it was a little bit more challenging actually because now I'm running a lot more than I had before, Stoudemire said. Obviously, in the NBA you run short distances, right? And the police academy, you're running more long-distance mileage.You cover a lot of mileage in your training. He explained that academy life began with prime military routines: taking the flag down in formation, marching to the flag, standing in formation and doing 25 motivational push-ups. Some days included physical training with mile-and-a-half, two-mile or three-mile runs, plus push-ups and lunges. The classroom work covered a law enforcement handbook of about 700 pages and 18 chapters, along with first aid, defensive tactics and vehicle operation.Stoudemire said he previously went through an auxiliary program when he was with the Miami Heat that no one knew about, but his qualification expired after he played four more years in Israel and coached in Brooklyn for two years. He returned to the academy to do it the proper way. My wife at first was a little bit concerned because obviously being a police officer, there's some danger to it, he said.But if you are well-trained and you understand your policies and procedures, you're able to somewhat have officer safety, which is very important, and that's the goal. After graduation, Stoudemire will begin with in-house training and then work with a field training officer for about a month or two before patrolling by himself. He said he does not quite know exactly what the job entails day to day, but he understands his responsibilities.Stoudemire Applying Discipline To Law EnforcementAs an athlete, discipline, professionalism and communication were important, he said, and those same qualities apply to law enforcement. He added that as an officer he will communicate with the community and help steer the next generation in the proper way, catching them before they get in trouble and providing guidance. Stoudemire made more than $167 million over his 14-year NBA career with the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks and Heat. He averaged 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds across 846 games.After beginning his career with the Phoenix Suns in 2002, he joined the Knicks in 2010 before later stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. He also played overseas for Hapoel Jerusalem, the Fujian Sturgeons and Maccabi Tel Aviv before retiring from professional basketball in 2020. After his last NBA game in 2016, he ventured to Israel, where he converted to Judaism, began studying Torah and surreptitiously took college courses.His business interests run from movie production to kosher wine. In December 2022, he was arrested after allegedly punching and slapping one of his teenage daughters. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office dropped the case. Stoudemire was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this past August.He did not tell anyone at the time, but he had spent the days before and after at the Miami-Dade police academy, learning everything from CPR to conflict de-escalation. After passing a series of tests, he graduated Wednesday and will begin his career as a police officer. He said he has thought about what will happen when he gets recognized in this new line of work.New Role As Police OfficerHe spoke to family members in law enforcement and other officers, who told him that at first word will get out that he is a police officer and it could be surprising. I just go to what I have passion for, he said. You know, my passion drives me in directions that only I can follow.It's an unlikely pivot for a celestially talented basketball player, but one that is thoroughly on-brand for someone whose interests have ranged from professional sports to faith, business and now public service.