Maya McFadden Photos
New officers at Wednesday’s police academy graduation.
Call her Officer Mom: Maxine Wright with her four children.
When Maxine Wright discovered her youngest son was afraid of cops, she decided to change that — by becoming a New Haven police officer.
Wright is now ready to walk a beat, after she and 20 fellow members of police academy Class XXV graduated Wednesday at a ceremony attended by city and state officials, family members, and others in the police department.
The swearing in of the new 21 graduates Wednesday afternoon took place at Woolsey Hall. It came a few hours after new Police Chief Karl Jacobson was sworn in to the new role leading the department.
Mayor Justin Elicker with graduates reciting the oath of office.
Speakers included Lt. Jason Rentkowicz, Jacobson, Mayor Justin Elicker, Police Commission Chair Evelise Ribeiro, and Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin, the keynoter.
They each reminded the class of the challenges that come with being a police officer and their duty to take up those challenges with confidence and humility.
Officer Hill gets pinned by father who is a Army Staff Sargent.
Officers received their academy diplomas and had their badges pinned on by their loved ones.
Lt. Rentkowicz, who oversees the police academy, congratulated the officers for “prevailing” through tests of physical, mental, and academic toughness for the past seven months.
The 34-week class session started Dec. 1. Rentkowicz said the new officers were trained in Connecticut law, ethics, deescalation, marksmanship, cultural awareness, and mental health. They will be tested daily on these topics while on patrol, Rentkowicz reminded them.
Karl Jacobson addressing new officers.
Chief Jacobson told the department that his priority is to get more officers in New Haven and to train them effectively to execute community policing. (The department is down approximately 70 officers.)
He told the new officers that the “most important thing is how you treat the community members.” He tasked them with treating every citizen they encounter as if they were their wife, brother, or daughter just as he does, he said.
“This community is a part of your own,” he said.
He promised the city that he will hold his officers accountable for bringing “hope, love, and care” to every community encounter.
He recalled being on a walking beat at the start of his career in 2007 and challenging himself daily to do his job with hope, love, and care. He developed lasting community relationships in the process: Some of the New Haveners Jacobson first met on his walking beat as a rookie testified in support of him becoming the city’s next permanent police chief at a Board of Alders confirmation hearing.
“That was the proudest moment of my career,” Jacobson said of the testimony at the hearing. “It wasn’t how many people I arrested, or how many guns I got off the streets. It’s about how many people you help.”
Elicker told the graduates that they are joining the force in the “shadow of a very terrible thing” referring to the recent Richard “Randy” Cox incident.
He thanked the officers for stepping up to the job and reminded them to treat all New Haven residents with dignity.
State Rep. Robyn Porter and Newhallville Alder Devin Avshalom-Smith congratulate Officer Wright.
Wright said she realized all of her four kids, but mostly her youngest son, had “negative misconceptions of the police,” and she wanted to change that. She joined the force to prove to them that police officers, like their mother, can do good.
“I wanted them to know we are here to protect,” she said.
Ribeiro recalled talking to the graduates at the start of their academy training and learning that they wanted to be police officers to help the community, create positive impacts on residents, help people, and change the narrative of how police are viewed.
She challenged the graduates to live up to those promises.
Patrick Griffin.
In the keynote speech, Griffin told the officers that “no person is above the law.”
He charged the class with igniting a spark in the next generation of New Haven police officers through their actions on the job.
He compared the strategy of community policing to the road signs that read, “Drive like your kids live here.”
“Police the community like your family lives there,” he said.
Officer Hill.
Officer Clara Hill, 32, received the physical fitness award along with her diploma Wednesday.
Hill’s interest in becoming a police officer stemmed from Black Lives Matter protests in 2017 and more recently. “I felt a push to make a difference in policing,” she said.
She added that her goal during patrol is to get to know entire communities.
A brief video presentation showed families snippets of the academy and the officers jumping fences, going on long neighborhood runs, practicing take downs, being tased, and completing target practice.
Additional awards were given to Officers Heriberto Rodriguez for academic achievement, Kyle Cogliati for firearms top shot, and to Christopher Nguyen for leadership.
Officer Brown.
Class leader Trevor Brown thanked his classmates for inspiring him throughout the academy. He recognized Officer Hector Rosado, who at 55 years old could complete workouts before many others; and Wright who completed the academy’s late nights while raising four children.
The new officers are: Stephen Blake, 30, Trevor Brown, 23, Kyle Cogliati, 25, Jacob D’Ascanio, 28, Jake Dobosz, 27, David Colan, 47, Clara Hill, 32, Brian Kay, 24, Michael Limauro, 28, Jamie Lytle, 27, Daniel McLawrence, 39, Jaymie Morales, 28, Alan Nevells Jr., 34, Christopher Nguyen, 26, Jurgen Reci, 25, Baltazar Rivera, 41, Heriberto Rodriguez, 26, Hector Rosado, 55, Stacey Villone, 35, Isiah Whiting, 30, and Maxine Wright, 41.
Officer Hector Rosado gets pinned by two sons who are both officers in Stratford and New Haven.
Congratulations to the newest NHPD members! Best of luck and best wishes in changing the future of policing in our little city to protect and serve everyone to the best of your ability. Stay safe.