Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart today presided over the first-ever virtual Suffolk County Police Academy graduation, enabling the graduates’ friends and family to view the ceremony before the new officers join the front lines of the Suffolk County Police Department.
Video of the ceremony was live streamed on Facebook and can be viewed here.
The class of 70 graduates was comprised of 64 Suffolk County Police recruits, of which nearly 60 percent have previous law enforcement experience and 42 recruits possess a college degree. The academy also trained six recruits for outside and associated agencies including Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, Southold Town Police Department and East Hampton Town Police Department.
The recruits used the COVID-19 pandemic to support others who are fighting the virus around-the-clock. They delivered food to emergency room staff at Stony Brook Hospital last week to show their support and thank workers for their dedication to public health.
The recruits completed 30 weeks of academy training and received more than 1,000 hours of instruction on topics including law, emergency medical training, domestic violence, mental illness, cultural diversity, and terrorism.
