Why N.J. police department is brushing up on American History 101

Thursday morning was a change of pace for William Stuart.

While five weeks prior, the Camden County Police Officer was rushing through the halls of a shuttered Catholic school in Somerdale pursuing an active shooter during a drilling exercise, by 9 a.m. Thursday, he found himself in a much different kind of classroom.

Stuart was one of 50 department officers who crossed the bridge into Philadelphia to brush up on the backbone of American history at the National Constitution Center.

By the end of the week, all of the city's 372 current officers and recruits in training will have cycled through the Center's "Policing in a More Perfect Union" training module, which focuses on the role of the Bill of Rights in the American justice system and explores the history of policing in communities.