nothin Training Starts For 31 Police Cadets | New Haven Independent

Training Starts For 31 Police Cadets

Christopher Peak Photo

Chief Anthony Campbell to cadets: You’re the future of policing.

Three months behind schedule, a new crop of students arrived for their first day of classes this week: the 31 police cadets who’ll be trained at the policy academy.

After a Monday afternoon swearing-in at the academy at 710 Sherman Parkway, the cadets finally got started on their 32-week training, where they’ll learn the basics of policing. The curriculum covers the basics of criminal law, use of force and community relations, among other fundamentals of the job. This year will also feature new training on crisis communication, opioid addiction and city governance.

The New Haven Police Department has been putting this class of recruits together for the better part of a year, dealing with setbacks at almost every stage of the process. A rigorous physical-fitness test and an opaque drug-use policy knocked off candidates, while a psychologist’s bidding issues and background investigators’s falsifications added months of delays.

After the long wait, top police officials said they’ve assembled a group of cadets that’s better vetted and more diverse than almost any other class in the department’s past two decades.

The current class includes nine New Haven residents, four of whom were born and raised in the Elm City. More than half are racial minorities, including ten African-Americans and six Hispanics, and a dozen are women.

The New Haven Police Department knows how important it is to have its officers reflect the community it serves,” said Assistant Chief Racheal Cain, who oversees professional standards. We are very proud to have been able to seat such a diverse class without compromising the high standards our academy is known for.”

Cadets raise their right hand for a swearing-in.

The recruits, all wearing khaki uniforms, were as shy as kindergarteners on their first day. As various city officials addressed them, including the mayor, two alders, and several police commissioners, they remained silent, not knowing whether to respond to speakers. When the police called for them to stand at attention, they clumsily got to their feet and pushed in their chairs. After repeating an oath, only two wanted to answer journalists’ questions.

Police Chief Anthony Campbell told the cadets that they are the future of policing for this city” and for this country.”

Policing is a lot different than it used to be. There are a lot more things that you’ll be called upon to do, but we will train you on how to do those things with excellence, not disobeying the letter of the law, but most importantly the spirit of the law,” he said. People aren’t calling you because they want someone arrested. They’re calling you because they need someone to come and help them with their problems.”

Campbell said that this year’s academy will offer more training in deescalation. That will include a four-hour unit taught by Ray Hassett, a former lieutenant who retired from the department in 2012. Without good communication, the only recourse is the use of force,” Campbell said.

The new class can’t start on the job soon enough. As of early this summer, the police force had 112 vacancies. That’s left the department running on overtime, at a rate of $24,800 a day, based on this fiscal year’s early reports. To catch up on its numbers, the department will send a few more cadets to a state-run training in Meriden, while background investigators are already combing through the next group of names on the civil-service list to seat another class.

After the swearing-in, the recruits said they’re excited to dive into police work.

We all really worked hard to get where we’re at. It was a very long process, but we all hung in there,” said Jennifer Giovanni, a Milford resident. I think that is the start of teamwork. We’re going to be a really close class because of that.”

Another cadet, Jawan Haddock, said he looks forward to wearing his uniform through Westville Manor, where he grew up. He said felt like he’d made it and that it was his turn to give back to his neighborhood.

Mayor Toni Harp leads the recruits through their oath.

Each of you is about to join the ranks of what I’m convinced is the best police department in the state,” Mayor Toni Harp said. Beyond that you’ll be immersed in the principles of community policing, which puts New Haven a cut above most other cities.”

Police Academy’s Class XXIV includes Martha Alves, Tyree Blackwell, Kevin Blanco, Christopher Chin, Sean Connelly, Jamie Conroy, Jennifer DePeano, Eddie Diaz, Joseph DiNatale, Jonathan Elterich, Jennifer Giovanni, Jawan Haddock, Justin Harpe, Karyn Hoffman, Ryan Hooper, Margaret Luciani, Yalexa Melendez, Travis Miller, Jessica Mirmina, Conley Monk, Joseph Mortali, Christopher Noble, Marlena Ofiara, Nicholas Pazsak, Maurice Randall, Claire Rieser, Kiyaniah Simpkins, Jacob Sosik, Rykema Stone, Christopher Troche and Tony Vitale.

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