Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) recently established the Patrick D. Doyle Law Enforcement Scholarship to reward academic achievement and provide aid to Basic Law Enforcement students.

The scholarship honors the memory of drug task force commander Patrick Doyle who passed away at the age of 47 after a nine year battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Dacia and son PJ. Doyle was considered a model peace officer in the northwest Georgia region by his peers and the community.

The scholarship awards $500 to one Basic Law Enforcement student per semester. Funds can be used for tuition, books, testing fees and program supplies.  

The goal of the scholarship is to raise $7500 to support the fund for five years. If the goal is exceeded, more scholarships per semester will be offered. The scholarship is currently funded for the upcoming fall semester.

To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must be enrolled full-time and either be in their third semester of the Basic Law Enforcement (BLE) program or be enrolled in the Criminal Justice program after completing the BLE certificate program. They also must be in good standing with the college and Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Council. A student must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher to be considered for the scholarship.

Originally from Carrolton, Doyle attended West Georgia College and in 1996 moved to Walker County to become a detention officer at the Sheriff’s Office. In 1997 he became a certified police officer for the LaFayette Police Department. Doyle became a task force agent for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task force in 2003 and was promoted to task force commander in 2012.

Doyle returned to college and earned his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

An active member of the community, Doyle was very involved with his church, the Boy Scouts, 4-H, the Future Farmers of America and PJ’s ball games.