GREEN COVE SPRINGS – E.J. Guzman knows what it takes to be a good cop. The stars on his uniform and the keepsakes on his office walls and shelves confirm that.

But his mission to learn more about police work doesn’t stop.

Since joining the Green Cove Springs Police Department 20 years ago, he has been a patrol officer, street crimes and field training officer, instructor and detective with the county-wide drug and vice task force. He has overseen Criminal Investigations, Communications, Accreditation and Training, School Resource Officers, Records and Evidence.

He achieved the rank of sergeant and then lieutenant. The city council appointed him the Acting Chief of Police following the death of Derek Asdot in 2021. Three months later, the council officially put him in charge of the agency that regularly handles more than 55,000 calls a year.

Despite achieving the highest rank at his agency, Guzman recently attended Class 287 at the FBI National Academy for three months to broaden his law enforcement skills. The academy in Quantico, Virginia, is the same facility where the FBI trains its new special agents and intelligence analysts.

“It’s top-tier training, right? It’s the FBI,” Guzman said. “This course is renowned worldwide for its caliber. What it offers is really three things. It offers education through the FBI, normally through former or current FBI agents, and then it offers guest speakers from all aspects of law enforcement and public safety. And then the last thing it offers is networking because you are meeting top-level enforcement officials from all over the country and worldwide.”

It also includes completing a 6.1-mile advanced obstacle course set up by the U.S. Marines. The grueling run includes climbing walls, running through creeks, jumping through simulated windows, scaling rock faces with ropes, crawling under barbed wire in muddy water and maneuvering on cargo nets. Those who make it to the finish line leave with one of the most cherished tokens of law enforcement – a Yellow Brick Road Brick.

“That was the toughest part of the academy,” Guzman said. “Not everyone made it because you have to qualify through other runs. Some people who went to the academy couldn’t make the mile run in the allotted time, so they weren’t able to do the course. They got a certificate for completing the educational portion of the program. But they won’t get the brick right behind me that everyone seeks.”

Guzman keeps his brick on a table behind his desk.

“It’s a big deal,” he said. “I knew I was going to make it based on my time runs. I did pretty well. Now, I had no doubt that the Yellow Brick Road was going to be tough.”

According to the FBI, the academy immersed Guzman in coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindset, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication and forensic science to improve the administration of justice in local police departments.

Guzman said he believes the training will benefit everyone who carries a badge in Green Cove Springs.

“Absolutely, having good training has a ripple effect if you share what you’ve learned,” he said.

Guzman said he’s now focused on earning his Master’s degree in management at the University of Florida.

“It’s very similar to an MBA, and it’s really tough,” he said. “I started off taking three classes at a time, and then I dropped down to two classes. Then, I dropped down to one class when I got into this role (as police chief). Although I scaled back in my classes, I only have a few more classes left.”

After that, E.J. Guzman will probably start looking for another challenge.