6 State Police Academy Grads Heading To Troop C

TOLLAND, CT — The Connecticut State Police today graduated 35 new state troopers, all members of the 133rd Training Troop and among them were a half-dozen heading t0 the Troop C barracks.

Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James C. Rovella,

and State police commander Col. Stavros Mellekas congratulated the graduating class during a
ceremony held in Welte Auditorium the Central Connecticut State University. Gov. Ned Lamont also addressed the graduates.

The 133rd Training Troop entered the Connecticut State Police Training Academy on Nov. 4 with classes starting in a blended learning format. On Dec. 5, the class began the residential portion of the academy, Monday through Friday, and completed the remaining 24 weeks of training.

In total, the class completed 28 weeks and more than 1,400 hours of training both online and in
person. In addition to classwork, the recruits spend many hours on physical conditioning, driving, firearms training, active shooter response, experiential training and other specialized areas of police work.

The 35 members of this class includes 27 men and eight women. Members of the 133rd Training
Troop have diverse backgrounds, training and experience. Some are former municipal police officers or corrections officers; some have been trained as firefighters and EMTs and some have military backgrounds. The youngest member of the class is 21 and the oldest is 39.

Among the 35 graduates:

• 8 have military experience
• 4 have prior law enforcement experience
• 23 hold Bachelor’s Degrees
• 1 holds an advanced degree

• Rickey Deprey III (Enfield)
• Matthew Ormsby (Hartford)
• Priscilla Polci (Rocky Hill)
• Brian Sappleton (Windsor)
• Corey Brennan (Willington)
• Kyle Tiersch (Vernon)