By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – Six officers recently appointed to the Marlborough Police Department received a standing ovation and warm welcome from the City Council at its Jan. 7 meeting.
In a communication to councilors, Mayor Arthur Vigeant said he was “enormously pleased with the caliber of these men and women” and asked the council to join him in wishing the new members of the department a long and successful career serving and protecting the community.
Currently assigned to the midnight shift are Scott Carey and Paul McCarthy. Carey graduated from the Boston Police Academy last July and McCarthy transferred to Marlborough from the Oxford Police Department in August.
Rafael Faria graduated from the Boylston Police Academy in December and is currently in Field Training. Christopher Bradley is scheduled to graduate from the Reading Police Academy on Jan. 15 and will begin Field Training for the next 10 weeks. Tyler McElman and Alyssa Stetson are scheduled to begin training at the Springfield Police Academy in February. Their expected graduation date is late July.
In other business, councilors accepted a $6,000 grant awarded to the Police Department from the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The award was funded by a federal grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Police Chief Mark Leonard, in a communication to the mayor, said, “The grant is a reimbursement grant and will be used for high visibility traffic enforcement, specifically targeting drunk drivers.”
The Marlborough Police Department is among the more than 48 local law enforcement agencies and the Massachusetts State Police to participate in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” safety program.
Massachusetts saw 314 fatalities in traffic crashes in 2010, of which 39 percent (124 crashes), involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, according to the NHTSA.