Tolland Native In Latest State Police Graduating Class

TOLLAND, CT — A total of 33 new troopers Thursday graduated from Connecticut State Police training, all members of the 132nd Training Troop, and a Tolland native is among them.

Matthew Abbate has been assigned to the Troop C barracks in Tolland.

The 132nd Training Troop entered the Connecticut State Police Training Academy on April 8, with classes starting in a blended learning format. On May 9, the class began the residential portion of the Academy, Monday through Friday, and completed the remaining 24 weeks of training.

The class marks the second to graduate the State Police Training Academy in 2022. The members of the 131st Training Troop graduated on March 24.

In total, the class completed a total of 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. Five members of the class started the selections process (including the physical agility) while deployed to Africa as part of a joint effort with State Police and the CT National Guard.

The latest class includes 30 men and 3 women. Some are former municipal police officers or correction 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 52.