Police Academy Graduates 27

Twenty-seven men and women marched into the auditorium at Hillhouse High School police recruits and walked out rookie cops.

That happened at a jam-packed, Friday night graduation ceremony for the latest cops to swear to uphold the law and protect the people of the Elm City.

The new officers come to the job during a tumultuous time for a police department that has seen the rapid exodus of its veteran officers, including its most recent police chief, while a fight for a new contract is now in its third year. It also is a time when police officers are under scrutiny after cops from the Hamden and Yale departments shot an unarmed couple in New Haven.

Mayor Toni Harp, fresh off two days of dueling press conferences with the police union, reminded the new officers at Friday night’s graduation that despite all that, they are becoming cops in a department that is nationally recognized for both crime prevention and law enforcement.

“None of you have to take my word for it. Just review rosters of police departments from other cities and countries that send delegations to New Haven who have come to see for themselves what you do to distinguish yourselves here,” she said.

Harp also noted that the first quarter of 2019 has yielded only one homicide. She credited the police with that but said it’s not time to rest on the progress that has been made.

“These past couple of weeks have put police and policing in the spotlight again, and once again the spotlight hasn’t necessarily been flattering,” Harp said. ​“But I’ll speak to an underreported truth about what’s been happening these past couple weeks. New Haven and Hamden with Yale’s police department haven’t thought twice about responding when called upon to safeguard protestors unhappy about recent events involving police officers. No one has said a word about working overtime to close streets, direct traffic or otherwise protect the interests of free speech even when that free speech was disparaging of police and directed at them.

“You know it will be challenging. You know you will be challenged personally,” Harp added. ​“There will be frustration from time to to time but you’ve entered a noble profession. Tonight we thank you for choosing a career in public safety we thank you for your service.”

Acting Police Chief Ontoniel Reyes kept up the theme, reminding the new officers that they have ​“committed to a cause far greater than themselves.” He also reminded them that they had come along way from the first time he saw them six months ago.

“There wasn’t a hair in this room that wasn’t standing up when they walked in,” he said. ​“They truly looked like police officers.”

“Today you take that blue pill,” Reyes said drawing titter of chuckles from the crowd. ​“You know what I’m talking about. Today your lives will be changed forever. From this point forward you will never experience the world in the same way again and more importantly, the world will never look at you the same way again.”

Many in Recruit Class 23 received their badges from someone close to them who also is currently serving in a uniformed service or had served previously as a police officer or in the military. It is a diverse class, with nearly half of its members women.

One of those women, Jessica Mirmina, served as this year’s class sergeant. She spoke on behalf of the class Friday night, noting that it was hard to believe that in 32 weeks the recruits went from having to look at each other’s badges to know names to now calling each other by nicknames like ​“T‑Rex” and ​“Deebo.”

Mirmina told the audience of proud family and friends that they learned a lot of things about policing in the academy, including how to work together and how to be accountable for their actions.

“If one recruit fails, we all fail,” she said. ​“What one recruit does or does not do affects all of us.”

She said Recruit Class 23 understood exactly what the mayor and Reyes sought to impress Friday night.

“We step out of the academy and into the real world where anything and everything goes,” she said. ​“We’re no longer able to take things personally when people say or do things to get a reaction out of us. We can’t just react; we’re held to a higher standard.”

Assistant Police Chief Racheal Cain closed out the graduation ceremony with a few tips for the new officers.

“The compassion you show does make a difference,” she said. ​“You will face difficult times. People will question your intentions and second guess your actions. Don’t take it personally… it’s just part of being a public servant, never act on emotion or be complacent.

“Your actions or inactions have lifelong consequences,” Cain said further. ​“Remember every person you meet is someone’s mother, sister, brother or son. Treat them with the same level of respect that you would expect your family to be treated. And always remember this: right is right even if no one else is doing it. Wrong is wrong even if everyone else is doing it.”

New Haven’s newest rookie officers are as follows: Martha Alves, Kevin Blanco, Christopher Chin, Sean Connelly, Jennifer DePeano, Eddie Diaz, Joseph DiNatale, Jennifer Giovanni, Jawan Haddock, Justin Harpe, Karyn Hoffman, Ryan Hooper, Margaret Luciani, Yalexa Malendez, Jessica Mirmina, Conley Monk, Joseph Mortali, Christopher Noble, Marlena Ofiara, Nicholas Pazsak, Maurice Randall, Claire Rieser, Kiyanniah Simpkins, Jacob Sosik, Rykema Stone, Christopher Troche, and Tony Vitale.