The Newton Police Force has been augmented by the addition of six newly graduated officers, at a time when the force has been reduced to 137 members.
On Friday, June 14, five of the new recruits were sworn in by Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and the Acting Chief George McMains. The ceremony took place at Newton Police Headquarters, where the new recruits had their families invited to pin badges on the new officers. The new recruits are:
- Officer Jeely Dorvil, originally from Haiti, attended Waltham High School and pursued his Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice at Massachusetts Bay Community College and had been previously working as a security officer.
- Officer Nathan Harvey is a Newton North graduate and Merrimack College graduate with a degree in Criminal Justice.
- Officer Joseph Healy is a Newtonville resident and is currently completing a criminal justice degree with a minor in psychology. He was previously employed at McLean Hospital.
- Officer Robert Ranta is a Newton native and graduate of Newton North High School and UMass Boston with a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. He is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Violence Prevention and Advocacy at Lasell University.
- Officer Serhiy Zadorozhnyak is a Newton North graduate and served in the army for 6 years.
- Officer Hannah Eldridge was unable to attend the ceremony. She is originally from Northbridge and holds a degree in Criminal Justice from Franklin Pierce University. She previously worked as a 911 Dispatcher for the City.
As part of their on-the-job training, the new officers will accompany more senior officers on specific assignments to apply what they learned during their training at the Police Academy. New officers receive fifty-two hours of real shift training. “We want them to see the right way to do things,” said Acting Chief McMains. After that in-house training, the new officers go out on their own, and their supervisors are available to provide feedback.
Chloe Yu is a Fig City News summer intern and a rising sophomore at Emerson College. Martina Jackson contributed to this article.
