Cambridge-Northeastern Police Academy Graduates First Class; Cambridge Police Department Welcomes New Officers

The Cambridge Police today announced that 28 new police officers graduated from the very first Cambridge-Northeastern Police Academy following a special graduating ceremony held at the Blackman Auditorium on the campus of Northeastern University on Friday, September 20. The graduating officers will join their respective departments after successfully completing their 20-week training.

The new Officers represented 13 different departments from the greater Boston area. The participating agencies were Abington, Babson College, Belmont, Brockton, Boston University, Cambridge, Chelsea, Lasell University, MIT, Northeastern University, Randolph, Salem and UMass Dartmouth. Ruben Galindo, Deputy Chief of the Northeastern University Police Department, and Robert Ferullo, Executive Director of the Municipal Police Training Committee, joined Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard, Jr. in addressing the graduating class, while retired Chief Justice Roderick Ireland issued the keynote address.   

Police Commissioner Bard told the 28 graduating officers, “You should be proud. You are the first in what we hope to be a long-lasting tradition here at the Cambridge-Northeastern Police Academy.”

The inaugural class includes two new Cambridge Police Officers, who were sworn in by City Clerk Anthony Wilson in front of family, friends and colleagues. Officers Thomas Pasquarello and Tarik Salameddine were then officially welcomed to the City of Cambridge with a Welcoming Ceremony this morning at Sullivan Chamber in Cambridge City Hall.  Among those in attendance were City Manager Louis DePasquale, Deputy City Manager Lisa Peterson, members of City Council, friends, family, and former and current members of the Cambridge Police Department.    

Officer Thomas Pasquarello is the son of a retired Police Chief, brother of Cambridge Police Officer and most recently a former State Trooper with the New Hampshire State Police. He previously interned with the Northeastern University Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration in Boston. He is conversational in Spanish, Italian and Mandarin Chinese. Officer Tarik Salameddine is a graduate of UMass Boston and a high school in Morocco. He is fluent in Arabic and French.

For pictures and archived video from Friday’s graduation and this morning’s welcoming ceremony, please visit www.facebook.com/CambridgePolice.