59 new state troopers join Virginia State Police
Table of Contents
Fifty-nine new state troopers joined the Virginia State Police during commencement exercises Oct. 4, and two have Henrico connections.
The new troopers were part of the 130th graduating class. Each received more than 1,300 hours of classroom and field instruction in more than 100 different subjects, including defensive tactics, crime scene investigation, ethics and leadership, survival Spanish, police professionalism, firearms, judicial procedures, officer survival, cultural diversity and crisis management. The members of the 130th Basic Session began their 29 weeks of academic, physical and practical training at the academy March 20.
The new troopers reported to their individual duty assignments statewide this week. For their final phase of training, each trooper will spend an additional six weeks paired up with a Field Training Officer learning his or her new patrol area.
Among the graduates was Henrico-native David M. Saunders, whose territory is Hanover County. Another graduate, New York native Timofey Smosyuk, was the only new trooper assigned to Henrico County.
