Police Add Two Officers To Law Enforcement Roster

By Andrew Gorosko

With the recent hiring of two new police officers, the town police department now has 42 sworn members, which is one person short of its full complement of 43 officers.

In ceremonies October 10 at Town Hall South, Domenic Costello of Ansonia and Daniel McAnaspie of Danbury took the oath of office to become the police department’s newest patrolmen, as Police Chief Michael Kehoe, First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal, and the new officers’ families and friends, among others, looked on. Town Clerk Cynthia Simon administered the oaths of office.

Mr Costello, 25, is a graduate of Fairfield University and also a graduate of the Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Mr McAnaspie, 26, formerly served as a New York City police officer.

On October 17, both men started a police training course at the Connecticut Municipal Police Academy. They are expected to graduate from the police academy next March, after which they will start a program of supervised on-the-road police training in Newtown.

Although Mr McAnaspie served as a New York City police officer in the past, town police officials believe that his attending the state’s police academy will provide him with a good grounding in Connecticut law and law enforcement practices, Chief Kehoe said October 20. Mr McAnaspie served as a New York City police officer for 2½ years, the police chief said.

Both recruits are well suited for police work, Chief Kehoe said.

People who obtain law degrees, such as Mr Costello, are sometimes interested in pursuing careers in law enforcement, the police chief noted.

Messrs Costello and McAnaspie have personal qualities that are similar to the personal qualities of the people whom the Police Commission have named as police officers during the last several rounds of officer hiring, the police chief said. Such people demonstrate a sense of community service and enthusiasm, the chief said.

Chief Kehoe said he expects the town will hire another police officer in December, bringing the police department’s membership up to the full complement of 43 people.

The current annual starting pay for police patrol officers is $39,029, plus benefits. The officers’ salaries rise rapidly during their first five years of service.

In the police hiring process, applicants who pass a written test proceed to physical testing. Those who pass physical testing, proceed to oral interviews, which are conducted by a panel of officers from other police departments.

The Police Commission interviews remaining applicants. Extensive background checks, a physical examination, psychological testing, and lie detector testing are used to screen job candidates.

The job application form runs for 24 pages, going into exhaustive detail on personal information, relatives, references, roommates, education, experience, past employment, military history, criminal background, motor vehicle information, financial information, and illegal drug use.

For the job candidates who pass the July 31 written testing and pass a round of agility testing on August 9, initial oral interviews will be held on August 11.

Candidates who progress through the hiring process also are subject to psychological testing, lie detector testing, and background checks.