HARTFORD, Conn. — Thursday afternoon, friends and family filled Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford to celebrate the 100 graduates of the 130th Training Troop of the CT State Police Training Academy.
The troop entered the academy on January 15, with classes starting remotely due to COVID-19. On May 17, the troop arrived at the CT State Police Academy to round out their 32-week training in a residential format.
Recruits completed over 1,500 hours of training both online and in-person in small groups. In addition to classwork, the recruits spent hours on physical conditioning, water rescue, driving, and other specialized areas of police work.
Other training highlights include academic firearms, emergency vehicle operations, first aid, tactical first aid for patrol, physical confrontation, taser, gas, OC spray exposure, and water safety.
Recruits also had 10 days of experiential training including practical, and wellness exercises & evaluations in simulated scenarios.
The Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection James Rovella, and Colonel Stavros Mellekas lead the ceremony. Governor Ned Lamont also attended the ceremony and addressed the newest troopers.
Among the graduates were 76 men and 24 women, 20 of whom had military experience and eight with prior law enforcement experience.
State police said that 15 of the graduates are bilingual and 27 are minorities.
The youngest member of the graduating class is 22, the oldest is 49 years old.