Starting careers at the most grueling time for law enforcement in generations, 32 brand-new Connecticut police on Friday declared they’re ready for what’s ahead.
“We’ve all been trained, we know what to do, we’re motivated,” Officer Angelina Piccirillo said less than an hour after officially receiving her badge as a West Hartford police officer.
Piccirillo and her young colleagues are the first municipal police in Connecticut to have gone through a six-month academy amidst the coronavirus pandemic, nationwide police brutality protests and “defund the police” campaigns.
“All this did was make us more eager to deliver as law enforcement officers, and be the best we can be for the community,” New Britain Officer Calvin Wentworth said after a graduation ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park in New Britain.