The Cambridge Police Department welcomed five new police officers to its ranks at a swearing-in ceremony held in the Sullivan Chamber at Cambridge City Hall on November 18, 2013.
After successfully completing their training at the Lowell Police Academy and graduating last week, Officers John T. Bernard, Matthew A. Grassi, Michael J. Neil, Eric J. Rivera, and Steven A. Wenzel were sworn in by City Clerk Donna P. Lopez in front of their friends and families. Also in attendance were Mayor Henrietta Davis, City Manager Richard C. Rossi, Fire Chief Gerry Reardon, city officials, and members of the Cambridge Police Department.
“You have a tough job,” said Mayor Henrietta Davis. “The most important thing you’ll do is take care of our community, and I want to thank you all very much for your service ahead.”
City Manager Richard C. Rossi congratulated the new officers, saying, “You are now members of a great and proud tradition at the Cambridge Police Department. Make the citizens proud, make your family proud, and always work for Cambridge.”
“There are very few who can meet the high standards we have set,” said Cambridge Police Superintendent Steven Williams. “The trust we have built with the community is essential to the job we do. Never forget who serve….that is the ‘Cambridge Way.’”
The new officers will attend two weeks of in-service training to learn the Cambridge way of policing, be instructed in department policies, and learn CPD’s rules and regulations. They will each be assigned to a Field Training Officer for an additional eight weeks where they will work different shifts and train with different officers to get hands-on experience on the street in Cambridge. Once they have completed their training, the officers will receive their assignments and be deployed sometime in mid-January.