Mayor Richard Kos has announced the swearing in of eight new Special Police Officers and seven Police Officer recruits that took place in a ceremony at City Hall today that included family and friends of those selected.

The eight Special Police officers, Igor Arbuzov, Javier Feliciano, Kurt Taylor, Elbis Delrio, Brett Landers, Amanda Baker, David Christensen, and Stephen Williams, all of Chicopee, have completed a psychological and physical evaluation and will now immediately begin the Special Police training program designed by Chief Jebb under the supervision of Training Department Supervisor Lt. John Pronovost.

Under that program, Special Officers have a more active role in the Police Department and the community. In the past, Special Police were primarily used for work at polling locations and work on extra details.

Special Police are used at our Police substations and train with full time Police officers. They are also required to volunteer in the community every month. The program, which was instituted in January of this year, is designed so that Special Police officers work towards becoming full time police officers. They receive more updated training in law enforcement and more “on the job” training than in the past. They also work with our full time officers to better serve the community.

The seven Police Officer recruits Nickolas Stone, Anthony Rodrigue, Victoria Lopez, Micky Dumais, Matthew Lemieux, and Melvin Colon, also all of Chicopee, will begin their six month training at the Police academy in November which will be completed in the spring.