Stamford Police Department Unveils New Academy, Swears In 9 Recruits

STAMFORD, CT — It was a momentous day on Wednesday for the Stamford Police Department with the swearing-in of nine recruits and the official unveiling of the new Stamford Regional Police Academy located within police headquarters at 725 Bedford St.

The nine recruits, plus nine more from various police departments in Fairfield County, will make up the first training class at the new academy, which will offer Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) classes for groups of up to 30 recruit officers.

The newly sworn-in officers will begin their six-month training period on Friday, after which they will participate in field training for three months before they're ready to go out and work on their own.

The academy will serve officers from across Region 1 of the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, which includes fourteen municipalities in Southwest Connecticut.

The last training academy in Stamford was in operation about 15 years ago. This is the first time the SPD will have an academy in its own building — something Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw said will be an advantage.

"Having a regional academy for lower Fairfield County is a huge asset for us and the surrounding towns. It saves on the commute, it saves on traveling to different academies like in Milford, Bridgeport and Waterbury," Shaw said.

According to a report from the Associated Press last month, police hiring in the United States increased in 2023 after years of decline.

"Having [our own academy] with nine of our own recruits and nine across Fairfield County, it shows there's a need," Shaw said.

The SPD now stands at 276 sworn officers. Shaw said the department is under budget by about 20, which will now be basically cut in half with the new officers in the fold. More retirements are expected to come in the department, Shaw noted.

Having recruits train in the building they'll eventually work in is important, according to Shaw.

"There are instructors that are going to be from Stamford, so you're training your own. You're not being disrespectful to the other departments, but when you train your own, they're going to be in the building, they're going to see how our officers work on a daily basis," Shaw added. "This gives us a better opportunity to get more people in this diverse city to come into our building."

Internally, there will be about six to seven SPD officers involved with the recruits on a day-to-day basis. Overall, Shaw estimated over 50 instructors will rotate in and out over the course of a training period.

SPD Lt. Adrian Novia is the head of the academy, and he expressed excitement about finally getting started.

"This has been in the works for a long time, even the space we were able to put together with the city and chief's help," Novia said. "We're very excited to train our own people and train them in-house."

Mayor Caroline Simmons was in attendance for the swearing-in ceremony and a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the academy.

"It's really exciting that the Stamford Police Department has its first police academy located right in police headquarters, which will help with recruitment and retention of our police officers as well as provide an excellent high-quality academy and training facility for the region," she said. "We really want this police academy to be a model for the region."

New Recruits Join The Ranks

Before the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the academy, Simmons administered the oath to nine Stamford police recruits: John Paul Antonelli, 35; John Carr, 23; Andres Castro, 24; Ryan Jarnutowski, 26; Erica Martinez, 26; Maxwell Pagano, 25; Anthony Socci, 24; Samuel Verkaik, 35; and Daniel Vitali, 45.

Some of the recruits hail from Stamford and neighboring towns such as Shelton, Norwalk, and Port Chester, N.Y., and even as far as Michigan.

There was a rigorous selection and vetting process, which included written, polygraph, psychological and physical tests.

"During the recruitment interviews, it was said many times that what attracted these recruits to Stamford was the community outreach and the fact that we consistently hold the rank of the top safest city in the Northeast," Shaw told the recruits and their family and friends who gathered in the meeting room on the ground floor of headquarters.

"We hold these high standards not only because of those who are here now, but those who have come before us and showed us the way. It is our turn now to show you the way on how policing is done in Stamford," Shaw said.

Simmons welcomed the recruits to Stamford.

"It's an honor and privilege to swear in these nine recruits, who will be joining the city of Stamford police department, one of the best police departments in the state of Connecticut, and a department that prides itself on promoting and protecting public safety of our community with integrity and excellence."