by Wesley Harris
Ruston Police Chief Eric Watson has announced two recently hired officers have completed their police academy training.
Amauri Keys and Emily Floyes graduated from the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Training Academy last week after a 16-week program described as a very intense course designed to test recruits both mentally and physically.
The Bossier Parish academy curriculum is comprehensive and includes officer survival skills, physical fitness, weapons qualifications, legal aspects, active shooter drills, and defensive tactics.
The academy training is required to be a certified officer with arrest powers by the Louisiana Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST). Now that Keys and Floyes have completed the academy, they are officially POST-certified peace officers.
Ruston officers also undergo months of supervision and evaluation under the direction of a field training officer before being released to work on their own.
“Both are great people, and each brings a little something different to the table,” Watson said.
Keys is a former RPD dispatcher and her mother is also a dispatcher. “[Dispatching] was my first step, and it got me closer to where I wanted to be in law enforcement,” Keys says.
“Law enforcement has always been something I wanted to do since I was a kid, Keys says. “I think about all the ways I can help others. I’ve played sports my whole life so the feeling of doing something I love as part of a team that became family keeps me motivated.”
Officer Keys is a Ruston High School graduate who has lived in Ruston most of her life. She says becoming physically fit is one of the biggest accomplishments.
Floyes chose a law enforcement career “because service has always been a defining part of who I am,” she says. “As the middle daughter of three girls, I grew up looking up to my father and listening to stories about his time serving during Desert Storm. For a long time, I believed I would follow a similar path and serve in the armed forces.”
But her career path changed in college. “I developed a deeper interest in law enforcement and the unique role officers play in serving and protecting their communities,” Floyes says. “I realized that while I once imagined protecting my home
from overseas, my calling was to serve here—supporting, defending, and making a difference in the lives of people in my own community.”
Floyes says, “Choosing law enforcement allows me to honor the values of service and dedication my father instilled in me, while building a career where I can protect others and contribute directly to the safety and strength of the place I call home.”
Floyes attended Louisiana Delta Community College and later, ULM. She grew up in Columbia, attended Caldwell High, and holds a black belt in Shotokan, a style of Japanese karate.
Watson said several other new hires will be starting the academy in January and should complete it and their field training to be able to patrol on their own by July 2026.
In a social media post, RPD said, “As they begin their journey with the Ruston Police Department, we invite our community to join us in congratulating them and offering support as they step into their new roles. Please help us welcome Officer Keys and Officer Floyes to the RPD family!”
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