Twenty Five individuals graduated from the Mohawk Valley Police Academy Friday in a ceremony held at the Stanley Theater in Downtown Utica.

During the course of their 25-week training, these recruits underwent detailed classroom training and practical field exercises.

The graduates are already committed to their future agencies and those trained will represent The Auburn City Police, Oneida City Police, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, Rome Police Department and the Utica Police.

Several law enforcement officials, including Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol, congratulates these graduates and certainly the community does as well.

Below is a list of the graduates and which agency they will serve with.

Auburn Police Department
Officer Stephen Bennett
Officer Nikoli Biljanoski
Officer Jeffrey Gardner
Officer Patrick LaGrrow

Oneida City Police
Officer Josh Hood

Oneida County Sheriff's Office
Deputy Christopher Dorr
Deputy Colin McDaniels
Deputy Holly Sroka

City of Rome Police Department
Officer Mikayla Blumenstock
Officer Kevin Fisher
Officer Markel Griggs
Officer Kalyn Olney
Officer Anthony Pacicca
Officer John Petrelli
Officer Megan Pritchard

Utica City Police Department
Officer Edgardo Colon
Officer Daniel Forte
Officer Bryan Gil
Officer Colin Madia
Officer Angelo Marroccolo
Officer Bryce Patterson
Officer Drew Putrello
Officer Jariel Rodriguez
Officer Alexander Sperling
Officer Andrew Taft

Congratulations to all of these individuals for choosing to embark on such an incredible career. Being a law enforcement officer these days can be quite a challenging task. With police and community relations being a real issue nationwide, luckily for the most part there is an overall appreciation here in the Mohawk Valley.

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