The Oath of Office: "To Protect and Serve"

Recently, public officials in East Haddam participated in a time-honored tradition. Every two years, public officials who serve the town renew their “Oath of Office” in a brief ceremony.

The ceremony was led by East Haddam Town Clerk, Debra Denette and was recited as follows:

"I, do solemnly swear, that I will uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, and that I will faithfully discharge, according to law, the duties of the Office of Constable for the Town of East Haddam, to the best of my ability."

The Town of East Haddam currently employs five part-time constables that work side-by-side with the two full-time Resident State Troopers. They are, in order of years of service:

• Corporal George Corbeil: since 1977 (35 years)
• Corporal Craig Mansfield: since 1988 (24 years)
• Constable Tom Griffith: since 1988 (24 years)
• Constable Mark Creighton: since 1996 (16 years)
• Corporal Karl Karabeinikoff: since 1998 (14 years)

The tradition is upheld by the following state law that describes the requirement for certification:

Connecticut General Statutes, Title 7, Chapter 95, § 7-88 - Oaths of Constables

Each person elected to the office of constable in any town shall, before the commencement of his term of office, or within thirty days thereafter, take the oath of office before some proper officer, who shall certify in writing to that fact and deliver the certificate to the person by whom the oath was taken; and such person shall, without delay, lodge such certificate for record in the office of the town clerk of the town in which he was elected constable, and such clerk shall record the same. If any person elected to the office of constable does not comply with the requirements of this section, his office shall be vacant and shall be filled in the manner provided in section 9-220.