JAY – All that time Richard Caton IV spent shooting at targets at a sand pit has paid off.

Caton, 23, a Jay police officer, earned a perfect score in firearms training by shooting 250 out of 250.

Caton, formerly of Strong, now of Livermore, graduated from basic law enforcement training Dec. 17 at the Maine Criminal Justice Police Academy.

It was a year to the day after he was hired by Jay Police Chief Larry White Sr. to patrol the streets of Jay.

During the 18 weeks at the academy, which includes 720 hours of class time, cadets are trained in various aspects of law enforcement. One of the weeks during the academy is spent on firearms training.

Caton was just one of several cadets who graduated from the academy in the recent session.

Among the other officers in the area were Dixfield police officer Matthew B. Noyes, Farmington police officer Brian Ross and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Kenneth A. Charles. Charles was named class president and won the professionalism award, academy Director John B. Rogers said.

Cadets shoot five sets of 50 rounds each with a pistol during the test, Caton said. The target is a cardboard silhouette. “You have to have four head shots with 46 shots to the body,” he said.

Three or four other cadets had 248 or so out of 250, he added.

“I’ve just been shooting most of my life out in the sand pit,” he said. He has had no formal training, he said, except for the academy.

“I like to shoot at least once a month,” Caton said. He usually shoots with friends of family, using a variety of guns.

All police officers need to qualify at least once a year.

The academy’s classroom work was difficult, he said. “We had approximately eight to 10 hours of classes a day,” he said, in addition to weekly quizzes and tests. Instructors also pushed them physically during that time.

Caton comes from a family of law-enforcement officials, including his father, Farmington Police Chief Richard Caton III, and twin brother, Brock, a Livermore Falls police officer who is slated to attend the Criminal Justice Academy in late January.

The academy was a great experience, Caton said Tuesday, but he’s glad to be back at work and ready to use all the knowledge that he learned on the road.

“What I actually learned, it surprised me how much you don’t know about the job until you go through the academy,” he said. “And you’re never going to know all about the job because every situation is different.”

His father pinned him when he graduated. “It was a proud moment for me,” he said.

“We’re just very happy to have him back and we’re very proud of his performance at the academy,” White said.

Rogers said that Caton had the first perfect score he has seen since he became director two years ago.

Cadets are graded on a number of practices with academic performance making up 50 percent.

By the end of the training, Rogers said, the cadets are working five, 8-hour shifts and handling different scenarios that are set up for them.

“It’s pretty intense,” Rogers said. “Overall this class did fairly well,” he added.