Police Swear In Three New Patrol Officers

By Andrew Gorosko

Three new police patrol officers took their oaths of office Tuesday, bringing to 40 the number of sworn officers in the police department.

Taking their oaths of office were Thomas Bean, 25, of Watertown; Renee Forte, 21, of East Haven; and Steven Santucci, 24, of Wallingford.

The three recruits took their oaths of office from Town Clerk Cynthia Curtis Simon, as Acting Police Chief Michael Kehoe and Acting Captain Joe Rios looked on.

In remarks following the ceremonies, Acting Chief Kehoe termed the new officers “three fine young individuals” who went through a tough hiring selection process in being chosen for Newtown law enforcement.

Acting Chief Kehoe told the three new officers that law enforcement is a challenging and difficult field. If officers keep their code of ethics in mind, they cannot go wrong in their actions, he said.

“I wish you the best. I know that you’ll do well at the [police] academy… The academy is tough,” he said.

Police Commission member Richard Simon said, “I have the utmost confidence in the people we’re bringing in. It’s a good police department and you’re going to make it better,” he said.

Mr Bean, 25, of Watertown, has worked as a Newtown police dispatcher since June 1999.

Mr Bean, who is married, is a member of the Watertown Volunteer Fire Department and is a Watertown emergency medical technician. He has worked for ambulance companies. An Army reservist, he has worked in the security field. He also 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.

Ms Forte, 21, of East Haven currently attends the University of New Haven, studying criminal justice and psychology.

Ms Forte is scheduled to graduate next spring. Ms Forte, who has worked as an intern at the East Haven Police Department, said she has wanted to be a police officer since she was a child. Through police work she hopes to have a positive influence on the community, she said.

Mr Santucci, 24, of Wallingford has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Connecticut. Mr Santucci majored in animal science at UConn and has done research in animal studies at Yale University. He is a member of the Connecticut Army National Guard.

The Wallingford High School graduate said he chose to become a police officer to help people.

The three new recruits will soon 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. He is currently attending the state’s Municipal Police Academy in Meriden.

The police 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.

When they return to Newtown from the police academy next spring, the new recruits will spend 16 weeks in a field training program.