Date: Fri 09-Oct-1998
Date: Fri 09-Oct-1998
Publication: Bee
Author: ANDYG
Quick Words:
police-Rohbinson-Ferreira
Full Text:
Two New Officers Join The Police Force
BY ANDREW GOROSKO
The Police Commission has hired two new patrol officers to fill vacancies in
the police department.
The new officers are Richard A. Robinson, 30, of Bethel, and Louis M.
Ferreira, 36, of Shelton.
The men were sworn into office in ceremonies Tuesday night at a Police
Commission meeting.
The commission had planned to hire a third man to fill a third police patrol
vacancy, but that man recently took a law enforcement job with the Norwalk
Police Department.
Mr Robinson is a 1993 graduate of Western Connecticut State University in
Danbury, where he received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice with a
specialty in forensic science.
Mr Robinson's father formerly served as a Bethel policeman. He has worked as a
fire scene photographer for the Bethel fire marshal's office. Mr Robinson, who
has worked in the security field, enjoys skiing, hiking, bicycling,
photography and computers. He is a 1987 graduate of Bethel High School.
Mr Ferreira holds a 1987 associates degree in business from Sacred Heart
University. He has attended the Bridgeport Engineering Institute and is a
graduate of Henry Abbott Regional Technical School in Danbury.
Mr Ferreira is a volunteer fireman in Shelton.
Messrs Robinson and Ferreira will be receiving orientation at the police
department for the next several days, after which they will begin attending
the state's Municipal Police Academy for a 20-week course in law enforcement,
said Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr.
Following their 20 weeks in the police academy, the probationary officers will
participate in a 14-week on-the-road training program here with the police
department's field training officers, the chief said.
Lt David Lydem heads the police training unit. It also includes Det Sgt Henry
Stormer, Joseph Joudy, Steve Kethchum, Michael Brokaw, Aaron Bahamonde and
John Cole.
As the new officers progress through their 14-week training period in Newtown,
they will familiarize themselves with local police work until they reach the
point where they are capable of handling patrol duties on their own, the chief
said.
The town uses the services of the Municipal Police and Fire Registry, a
Danbury-based clearinghouse which accumulates information on candidates for
police jobs at a cost to the candidate but at no cost to municipalities.
In Newtown, in order to be considered for a police department post, a
candidate must pass an extensive testing process, be the subject of a
background investigation, pass physical and psychological examinations, as
well as polygraph and agility testing, plus drug screening. The starting pay
is $30,377 annually, plus a benefits package.
With the hiring of the two new patrol officers, the police department has 37
officers of its authorized complement of 39 sworn officers.
New officers are on job probation for one year.