Woodbury Resident Graduates From Connecticut State Police Academy

Fifty-eight new state troopers, all members of the 124th Training Troop, graduated from the Connecticut State Police Academy on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Joseph Hamel of Bethlehem and Lucas Tufano of Woodbury will join Troop B in Canaan.

The 124th training troop entered the Connecticut State Police Academy on June 13 of this year and spent approximately 1,400 hours in the classroom. They spent many more hours training in physical conditioning, water rescue, driving and other specialized areas of police work.

The 58 members of this class began the process of becoming State Troopers more than a year ago. At that time, they applied for the positions, took the written test and the physical fitness assessment, along with observational and polygraph tests.

Among the 58 graduates:

• 12 have military experience
• 8 have prior law enforcement experience
• 30 have bachelor degrees
• 3 have graduate degrees

Members of the 124th Training Troop have diverse backgrounds, training and experience. Some have previously served as firefighters, correction officers and judicial marshals, among many other professions. The youngest member of the class is 23 and the oldest is 42.

At their graduation Thursday, the newest Troopers were sworn in by Commissioner Schriro and assigned to one of 11 State Police troops located throughout Connecticut.

Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Dr. Dora B. Schriro, and Colonel Brian Meraviglia, Commander of the State Police, congratulated the graduating class during a ceremony at Jorgensen Auditorium at the University of Connecticut.

The above information was provided by the Connecticut State Police’s Public Information Office.