Patrolman Gregory LaMantia said he first wanted to become a police officer when he was a kid. At 14-years-old, he joined a police explorer program where he met mentors and learned about what it takes to be a police officer.

Forty years later, he’s hoping to do the same for kids in the Johnstown area, by starting a new police explorer program.

“So at the time, the police officers that were the advisors were actually my heroes,” said LaMantia, the school resource officer.

The city manager approved the charter for the program last week, which is run through the Boy Scouts of America.

Now, the police department is looking to recruit at least five Greater Johnstown High School students, both boys and girls, to sign up.

“If you have the interest, you can come and try it to see if this is the path you want to choose. So it’s good you could start that at an early age,” LaMantia said.

The group will meet once a month at the Public Safety Building in Downtown Johnstown, where the students can shadow police officers during ride-alongs and learn more about the job and a potential career.

“Just help make their career choice younger in life so we can set them on the right path. We want kids to set goals. The younger you are when you set a goal, the better off you are to achieve it,” said Chad Miller, Johnstown Police Captain.

In the future, LaMantia plans to expand the program into the Johnstown middle and elementary schools, as well as open it up to any teenager in the community with an interest in law enforcement.

For now, he’s excited to be a role model for the students, just like he had growing up. 

“Even whenever I was younger, those bonds are still there. I know some of our officers, they want to do that too. They want to be here for the community and give back,” said LaMantia.

Any high school student interested in signing up can pick up an application from the school’s resource officer at the Greater Johnstown High School.

The Johnstown Police Department is looking for donations from the community to cut the small membership fees for students. They also hope to fundraise to provide college scholarships for high school students who participated in the program.