Three New Melrose Police Officers Sworn-In

The Melrose Police Department welcomed three new police officers on Tuesday — all transfers from the Lawrence Police Department — who bring new talents to the force.

Mayor Rob Dolan swore in Stacey Griffin, Felix Gonzalez and Guillermo Rojas in Memorial Hall's GAR Room on Tuesday. Griffin previously worked as a paramedic for Action Ambulance in Melrose before becoming a police officer for the last nine years and will do CPR instruction within the department. Gonzalez and Rojas are both military veterans who speak Spanish fluently, something previously lacking in the department.

"We're very happy with the support of our aldermen ... that we can make this investment to bring you here to Melrose to make our city better," Dolan said.

Melrose Police Chief Mike Lyle said with the addition of three new officers, the Police Department now has one more officer than it did five years ago. Lyle added that by hiring officers who have already completed the police academy, the city will save about $60,000 in wages and tuition.

Griffin was born in Millis, studied biology at the University of Connecticut and is a trained sexual assault investigator, as well as a CPR and first responder instructor. In prepared remarks, Dolan quoted Griffin as turning down offers from two larger cities to come to Melrose.

"I was looking to transfer to a more stable community with the hometown feel of where I grew up," she said. "I had always enjoyed working in Melrose on the ambulance, and when the job on the police department was available, I felt it was time for a change in my life. I didn't want to go from city to city. I wanted to be able to know the people I work for."

Gonzalez joined the National Guard at 18 as a senior in high school with his eye on becoming a police officer. He served for six years and was a sergeant with the A Company 101st Engineers; his duties included providing security for Camp Edwards on Cape Cod. Gonzalez, who has a three-year-old son and is about to become the father of twin girls, also worked as a school safety officer for the Lawrence Public Schools before joining the police force. 

"I joined the police athletic league when I was 12," Gonzalez said, according to Dolan's prepared remarks. "We had the opportunity to do things with the police department. We went to car races at the Hudson speedway, and we would play basketball with them in the gym. I fell in love with the idea that you could make a difference, so ever since then I wanted to be a cop."

Rojas enlisted in the Army National Guard Infantry at the age of 17 and served in Bravo Company 8/181 Infantry, following in the footsteps of men on his mother's side of the family. He was in boot camp at Fort Benning, Georgia, on Sept. 11, 2001, and was deployed twice in the war, to provide security at military bases in New Jersey and Guantanamo Bay.

After Hurricane Katrina, Rojas was deployed to New Orleans to help search for survivors and work with local families. The father of a newborn baby daughter, Rojas served for nine years and left the National Guard as a sergeant. He has an associate's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and is working toward his bachelor's degree in criminal justice.