A Rochester man graduated this week with the 84th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy.
Thursday's graduation ceremony was held in the Indiana State Capitol Rotunda.
After the commencement address, the oath of office for the 28 new State Police troopers was delivered by The Honorable Justice Christopher M. Goff, of the Indiana Supreme Court. Each new trooper was then presented their badge and official identification by Superintendent Carter and his staff.
Dustin Smith of Rochester was assigned to the Peru district.
The graduation marked the culmination of 24 weeks of intense training which totaled more than 1,100 hours. Some subject areas of training included criminal and traffic law, de-escalation, emergency vehicle operations, defensive tactics, firearms, impaired driving detection, scenario-based training, and a host of other academic subjects related to modern policing.
Each graduating trooper will be assigned to one of 14 State Police Posts across Indiana. Once at their assigned district, the new troopers will spend the next three months working side by side with a series of experienced Field Training Officers. The purpose of the field training is to put to practical application the training received throughout the formal academy training. Upon successful completion of field training, the new troopers will be assigned a state police patrol vehicle and will begin solo patrol in their assigned district.
