Roberto Alfaro vividly remembers his childhood in New York during the 1960s and ‘70s. 

“I grew up in one of the worst gang and drug infested neighborhoods of the South Bronx,” said Alfaro, who lives in Hamden.  

At home, things were hard. 

“My father was an abusive and violent alcoholic and he had us running from one neighbor's house to another's in fear of our lives,” Alfaro said. 

In school, Alfaro was a shy student and he struggled with bullies. He still remembers one particular student who changed his life. 

“He ended up beating me so badly after school that I ended up in the emergency room and that is when I said enough is enough,” Alfaro said. 

Alfaro got into boxing but that only kept attracting the wrong crowd and he dropped out of school. 

“Thankfully I had some mentors that came into my life,” Alfaro said. 

Alfaro’s life started turning around for the better. He was the first member of his family to attend college and later he moved to Connecticut and became a Hartford Police Officer. 

“Everything that I saw growing up, all the crime and all the people that I see getting killed, and friends that I lost, I wanted to make a difference,” Alfaro said.

Alfaro served in the department for more than two decades. First as a patrol officer and then on the mounted unit. 

“It was my dream to be a police officer all my life,” Alfaro said. 

In Alfaro’s Hamden home, there is a wall dedicated to all the awards he received. Including a Lifetime Achievement Award for being of the founding members of the Hispanic Officer association, which advocated for the advancement of Hispanics on the force 

“Kids need to see that on the streets of Hartford, Hispanics rising up, one day I can be a sergeant,” Alfaro said. 

As a decorated officer, Alfaro inspired one of his sons to follow in his footsteps. 

“He is graduating in two days from Bristol PD,” Alfaro said. 

Beyond the badge, Alfaro has held several titles in his life, including salsa instructor, motivational speaker, and professional model and actor. He has appeared in minor roles in about 80 films and tv shows.

“Being on the big screen, being on TV, because other people see that and say wow that guy is on TV and wow if he made it, just the visibility part of it,” Alfaro said. 

Alfaro published a memoir ‘Fighting Through The Hurdles of My Life,” in hopes of showing people there are other possibilities outside the circumstances you are born into.  

“I grew up in a really bad neighborhood, suffered trauma from all he violence I saw at home and from being bullied but I am here,” Alfaro said. “So, that is what I do now, go around sharing my story and hopefully make a difference in the life of other people.”