Woodbury Resident Graduates From State Police Training Academy

WOODBURY, CT — Connecticut State Police announced new State Troopers, all members of the 130th Training Troop, have graduated from the department's training academy.

Woodbury resident Ahsley Padua was among the 100 new troopers who graduated recently. She will be assigned to Troop L in Litchfield.

According to a news release, a ceremony for the graduating class was held at Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford, with an address from Gov. Ned Lamont.

The 130th Training Troop entered the Connecticut State Police Training Academy on Jan. 15, with classes starting remotely due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. In early April through mid-May, the class commuted for day classes at the academy.

In mid-May, members of the 130th TT transitioned to residential living to complete their final 13 weeks of training.

In total, the class completed 32 weeks and approximately 1,500 hours of training both online and in person. In addition to classwork, the recruits spend many hours on physical conditioning, water rescue, firearms training, driving and other specialized areas of police work.

The 100 members of this class includes 76 men and 24 women who began the process of becoming State Troopers more than a year ago. At that time, they applied for the positions, took the written test and the physical fitness assessment, along with observational and polygraph tests, according to the news release.

Among the 100 graduates, 20 have military experience; eight have prior law enforcement experience; 51 are taking college classes, have completed some college or earned an associate's degree; 44 hold bachelor's degrees; seven have advanced degrees; 27 are minorities.