The Connecticut State Police added 24 trooper trainees to its ranks on Thursday.
The 135th Training Troop graduated at Central Connecticut State University. The class of 24 is made up of 19 men and 5 women, aged 21 to 40. Some are former municipal police officers, correction officers, and military veterans.
The recruits entered the academy in January and trained for more than six months.
“They do everything from driving in cars to firing the firearms at the range, to interacting and doing mental health, interacting with people and defensive tactics,” said Capt. Ryan Maynard, commanding officer of the training academy.
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Trooper Trainee Carlos Sifontes said the training was tougher than it was for him in the U.S. Navy.
“The discipline is very much the same, the intense training however is definitely elevated with the Connecticut State Police, that’s what I’ve noticed,” Sifontes said.
During the ceremony, Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier was honored with a moment of silence. His family was in the audience.
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Pelletier was killed in the line of duty in May. Recruits found out about the tragedy during training.
“It’s an incredibly difficult time to bring them in, but it really brought us together as one, and really let them see that the agency truly is a family,” said Maynard.
They said they’ll keep him close as they embark on their new journeys.
“I hope that everyone remembers him, I will remember him,” said Trooper Trainee Kathleen Begley. “We’ll hope to honor his legacy, especially my training troop.”
From here, the recruits will go into the field training officer program and complete 400 hours in the field with a trooper.
