NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — There are now 32 new Connecticut State Troopers. The 134th Training Troop graduated Thursday with a ceremony at Central Connecticut State University.
“It's something I always wanted to do,” said graduate Donnell Niles.
After 28 weeks and more than 1,500 hours of training, Niles and 31 other recruits are officially Connecticut State Police Troopers.
“My entire family is actually in law enforcement. My father is a retired police officer for 35 years,” explained Lina Vivo. “So I've always known that I wanted to get into policing.”
Thursday, Vivo’s father pinned on her badge.
“It was incredible. It was honestly a great moment. It's been a long time coming,” she said. “It was great being able to have my dad pin me and know that he was proud of me.”
Vivo, Niles and five of their fellow recruits weren’t just sworn in as state troopers Thursday.
They also received the “Medal for Lifesaving,” the first time newly sworn troopers were awarded medals at their graduation.
“All of a sudden, we kind of heard weird noises coming from the other side of the room and when we looked over, we noticed that it wasn't normal,” recalled Vivo.
Vivo’s roommate – trainee Andrea DeCrusati – collapsed on August 18 at the State Police Training Academy. She was experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency.
“I was awakened to the noise of a recruit calling for help,” Niles remembered. “She was unconscious at the time. We continued doing our resuscitative efforts and called 911 and got the ambulance there. It was very, very challenging at the time to see exactly who it was.”
Niles knew DeCrusati, having previously worked with her at the Department of Corrections.
“We did not know at the time what happened. All we know is that she was unconscious and having a medical emergency and we just did what we could to try to save Andrea,” said Niles.
DeCrusati was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital. She was rushed into an operating room to manage her trauma. During the course of surgery, doctors were able to identify and treat the cause of this life-threatening medical emergency.
Both the Yale medical team and the recruit’s family directly attributed the patient’s survival to the immediate response of academy staff and recruits.
Niles and Vivo said this experience brought their class closer together.
“For us females, especially being in an academy experience, there were only five of us at the time,” Vivo said. “We were a very tight-knit group of individuals and so once that happened, it really did hit home for us. It kind of just made us realize how quickly everything can change for anyone.”
DeCrusati was also honored Thursday.
“It's amazing and incredible to see how well she's done,” said Vivo.
For her and Niles, the "Medal for Lifesaving" came as a surprise. “I was just doing my job. That's all,” Niles continued.
Both said it is an honor they’ll carry with them throughout their careers.
“It kind of just makes you realize that the job that we're going into is incredibly fulfilling,” added Vivo. “It's something that you can't replicate unless you're in it.”
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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