Montgomery police chief graduates elite FBI National Academy

Montgomery Police Chief John Hank has returned from Quantico with a credential that reaches well beyond a line on a résumé. For Orange County residents, the key question is how the 10-week FBI National Academy experience will shape day-to-day policing in Montgomery, from investigations and communication with other agencies to how the department prepares for the next serious public-safety problem.

Hank graduated June 18 as part of FBI National Academy Session 298, one of 255 law-enforcement professionals who completed the program. The academy, created in 1935 after a Wickersham Commission recommendation for standardized police training, is built for senior leaders who usually already have about 21 years in law enforcement and often return to executive-level posts. Its coursework covers intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication and forensic science.

The training also tests physical endurance. FBI materials describe the academy’s 6.1-mile Yellow Brick Road run and obstacle course as part of the experience, a reminder that the program is designed to push officers in both classroom and field settings. That combination of leadership development and demanding physical standards is part of what gives the academy its standing among police executives nationwide and abroad.

For Montgomery, the practical impact will depend on what Hank brings back to a department that operates in a county where agencies must coordinate constantly. The Town of Montgomery Police Department lists Hank as chief at 110 Bracken Road in Montgomery, and Orange County’s police chiefs’ training network works with the county police academy and the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services, with the county academy training upwards of 900 officers a year. In that environment, a chief with new national contacts and a broader leadership network can influence everything from joint investigations to de-escalation practices and officer development.

Hank was appointed chief in 2021 after the town went without a chief since Arnold "Butch" Amthor retired in August 2020. The Town Board approved him 4-1, and a 2021 report said his salary was $125,000. That history makes his academy graduation more than ceremonial: it marks another step in a tenure that began under scrutiny and now carries the added expectations that come with elite national training.

The FBI National Academy Associates says its alumni network includes more than 14,000 senior law-enforcement professionals worldwide. For Montgomery, the real test is whether Hank uses that network and training to strengthen staffing, sharpen investigations and improve coordination with the county and state partners residents already depend on.