NEW TROOPERS GRADUATE FROM STATE POLICE ACADEMY

(SYKESVILLE, MD) – Lt. Governor Anthony Brown today joined Colonel Marcus L. Brown to congratulate the more than 80 new troopers who graduated from the Maryland State Police Training Academy and are ready to assume their new roles as state troopers.

After six months of intense academic and physical training in a residential police academy, the members of the 138th Maryland State Police Trooper Candidate Class graduated this morning during exercises held at Century High School in Sykesville, Md. There were 82 graduates in the class, including 16 military veterans and 16 who had a close relative who was or is a law enforcement officer. Twenty-four members of the class are enrolled in a concurrent degree program with Frederick Community College and will receive their associate of arts degree in criminal justice after completing a few additional courses.

“Our state and local law enforcement agencies are some of the finest in the country and have had a tremendous impact on reducing crime throughout Maryland to the lowest recorded levels since 1975,” said Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown. “This new class of troopers is the largest in our state’s history, and I know they will work hard to protect our communities and continue to make Maryland a wonderful place to live and raise a family. While Governor O’Malley and I have supported public safety initiatives such as the Maryland FiRST interoperable communication system, cross border crime information exchange programs, fugitive task forces, and the deployment of new State Police helicopters, today’s graduation represents the most significant investment of all: the men and women who wear our State Police uniform.”

“Your mission is to help and protect people,” Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Marcus L. Brown told the new troopers. “You are to be involved in ‘purposed policing,’ meaning everything you do as a trooper must be for a reason. Our ultimate goal is to impact the areas where crime is highest, where traffic issues are worst, and where help is needed most. You are to protect our citizens, prevent criminal acts and traffic crashes, and provide the highest quality of law enforcement services available anywhere.”

The members of Class 138 set amazing standards for charity involvement and support during their six months of training. They raised more than $25,000 to support Special Olympics Maryland. They participated in the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics and ran in the Maryland Law Enforcement Torch Run to raise awareness for Special Olympics.

The oldest member of the class will be 43 next month and joined the State Police after retiring from a career in the military. The youngest member of the class turned 21 yesterday.

This trooper candidate class was the first police academy class in the state to receive specialized training in autism, including how to recognize the signs and how to appropriately respond to someone with autism. Their legal training encompassed instruction that ranged from constitutional law to what the new laws regarding scooters in Maryland are that take effect October 1.

The new troopers will report for duty to one of 22 barracks across Maryland after a few days off. They will be assigned to a field training trooper and begin another eight weeks of closely supervised instruction and training before being allowed to patrol alone.

The next Maryland State Police Training Academy class is expected to begin in mid-August, 2012. Anyone interested in a career with the Maryland State Police is urged to visit http://www.mdsp.org/ for more information.