Hi Anthony2,
Ten years ago I was an auxiliary officer in Inkster, Michigan. At that time, and it's still the same today, they ran their own certified auxiliary officer academy. Anyone living close enough to be involved, with a clean record, could join. We carried firearms, and had training similar to what the full time officers received. We would ride shotgun on patrols with the regulars, but we also did a lot of our own operations with the department's detectives. The auxiliary officers would do drug sweeps, prostitution stings, and a lot of other fun stuff. I heard that these days it is more of a ride along program, but if you live in Metro-Detroit it might be worth checking out.
Like I said, its been awhile since I was involved, but back then almost all the other auxiliary/reserve programs sent their officers through the auxiliary officer academy at Schoolcraft College. Garden City (no longer has auxiliary officers), Wayne County, Van Buren twp., and Farmington Hills were some of the departments who had auxiliary programs. To take the Schoolcraft course you needed to be sponsored by a department, so maybe if you contact them, they can tell you which cities have programs. Of course, that advice is only good if you live in Metro-Detroit