The Shadow
DOSWELL – A former Covington resident is among 89 Virginia State Troopers graduated today at the 118th Basic Session at Meadow Event Park in Caroline County north of Richmond.
Gabriel Colon of Covington will be assigned to Campbell County Monday.
Five other graduates will be assigned to Botetourt County including Morgan Elic Brooks II of Norton, Nathan Zachary Harris of Wytheville, Joel Micah Martin of Wytheville, Michael Sinnott of Topeka, Kan., and Damien Michael Walls of Boaz, Ala.
The graduation was held this morning and is the largest graduating class in Virginia State Police history. It falls on the 80th anniversary of the creation of the department.
Of the 89 new state troopers, 13 are female and several of those receiving diplomas were born outside the United States in Puerto Rico, Kenya, Nairobi and Poland.
“We are proud to see such diversity building among our ranks,” said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police superintendent. The State Police has worked hard over the past 80 years to reflect the assorted population of people living and working within the commonwealth.
“The outstanding men and women of this 118th generation of troopers have undergone a demanding and intense training program in order to achieve the esteemed recognition of becoming one of Virginia’s finest.”
Graduates have completed a 37-week training session and received 1,690 hours of classroom and field instruction encompassing more than 100 different subjects.
Monday the new troopers report to their individual duty assignments and begin their final phase of training. Each trooper will spend a minimum of six weeks with a field training officer learning the patrol area and day-to-day duties.
“Today’s celebration is also bittersweet for many of these graduates and the entire State Police family, as our department still mourns the loss of trooper Andrew Fox,” Flaherty said.
Trooper Fox was struck and killed Oct. 5 while directing traffic on a special assignment near Meadow Event Park. He was a defensive tactics instructor and taught approximately one-third of the 118th Basic Session students.
