Police To Swear In Three New Police Patrol Officers

By Andrew Gorosko

Three new police patrol officers will be sworn into office in ceremonies Tuesday, November 21, at the police station.

Thomas Bean, 25, of Watertown, who has worked a town police dispatcher since June 1999, is among those who will be sworn in at the ceremonies, which start at 10 am.

Mr Bean, who is married, is a member of the Watertown Volunteer Fire Department. He has worked as a retail store manager. He is a graduate of Kaynor Regional Vocational Technical School in Waterbury and St Joseph’s Elementary School in Waterbury.

Renee Forte, 21, of East Haven also will be sworn into office.

Ms Forte currently attends the University of New Haven, studying criminal justice and psychology.

Steven Santucci, 24, of Wallingford also will take his oath of office.

Mr Santucci, who has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Connecticut, has served in the Connecticut Army National Guard.

The three new recruits will attend the Bridgeport Police Academy, where they will receive 20 weeks of police training.

With the hiring of Mr Bean, Ms Forte, and Mr Santucci, the police department has brought four new people into its ranks in the past several weeks.

Michael McGowan, 27, of Middletown was sworn in as a patrol officer in ceremonies October 27.

Hiring the four new people brings the police department roster up from 36 to 40 members. The department is authorized to have up to 41 members. As of January 1, 2001, the department will be authorized to hire a 42nd officer.

The starting salary for new patrol officers is $34,848 annually. The salary increases to $47,969 over five years.

The new officers have been selected through the police department’s in-house hiring process. The Police Commission opted to conduct its own hiring process this year to attract more candidates to police jobs than had been available to it through a regional police job registry.

Besides written tests and physical fitness tests, job candidates who progress through the hiring process also are subject to psychological testing, lie detector testing, and background checks.

After undergoing a week of orientation and indoctrination at the police department, newly hired officers spend 20 weeks in the police academy to get basic police training. When they return to Newtown, they spend 16 weeks in a field training program. Field training officers, who provide guidance in police work, accompany new officers on patrol. The police department’s field training officers are Darlene Froehlich, Doug Wisentaner, and Dominick Salvatore. Sergeant John Cole coordinates field training.