News

​​The Middlebury Police Department is proud to announce that Officer Edward Demers and his K9 Jay graduated on May 28, 2015 with the 173rd  State police K9 Training Troop.  A ceremony was conducted at the P.O.S.T.C. Training Academy located in Meriden, Connecticut.

Officer Demers, along with 11 other officers and their K9's participated in a grueling 14 week training session that began in the second week of February and concluded this week. The course, which is physically and mentally demanding prepares the officers and their K9's for the rigors of patrol duty, including tracking, apprehensions, obedience and other facets of their daily duties.

Officer Demers has been a K9 handler for some time, and is extremely experienced and respected in the field of K9 training and handling, having had 2 other police K9's.  During the graduation ceremony which was hosted by the Connecticut State Police, Officer Demers was honored with having the highest academic grade average in the class and received the highest academic achievement award.  Other participants were also honored. The training troop honors one officer from each class with a memorial award sponsored by the Milford Police Department, entitled the Daniel Wasson Memorial Award. Officer Wasson was a K9 handler who was shot by an assailant in late 1980's on the Post Road in Milford; as a result his memory is honored in each class, bestowing the award on the most distinguish K9 and handler of that class, selected by the training cadre.

We are extremely proud and excited to have Officer Demers back to work with his K9. Additionally, both Officer Demers and K9 Jay will be an asset to the Department and the Town, providing years of dedicated and professional police service to the Middlebury community. Officer Demers made a great sacrifice accepting the assignment and will most certainly excel in his future endeavors. Congratulations!

The Middlebury Police Department would also like to thank the members of the community who generously donated to the acquisition of K9 Jay and the K9 program, without those donations this program would not have been possible. A special thank is also given to Fidelco Guide Dog Services located in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Jay was acquired from Fidelco, a group which provides and trains guide dogs for the blind, but also vigorously supports Police K9 programs.  

Officer Dave Jannetty has been serving a part-time officer since 2013, he officially was sworn in on Tuesday, March 24, 2015. Jannetty is a retired Assistant Chief who served over 20 years with the City of Waterbury’s Police Department , and has been an asset to the Middlebury Police Department on many fronts. 

Pictured left is Commissioner Frank Cipriano, Chairman of the Police Commission swearing in Officer Jannetty on March 24th at the Special Meeting of the Police Commission.

Chief James Viadero explained to Commission members that Jannetty’s contributions have been his wealth of experience as an officer and a police instructor. He was recently was honored by the Waterbury Area Rotary Club for an incident that occurred at Quassy Amusement Park. Officers Jannetty and Demers administered lifesaving CPR to a distressed teenager who had overdosed on drugs. 

Viadero offered that in addition to his law enforcement expertise and accomplishments, Jannetty is also a program coordinator for the Homeland Security Program at Post University. Viadero said the Middlebury Police Department is extremely fortunate to have someone of Officer Jannetty's caliber serving the community and residents of Middlebury.

Middlebury and Southbury Police Department's conducted a joint active shooter/intruder training session at Memorial Middle School on January 19th. 

The Region funded the training and this was one of several such exercises that has been conducted with the assistance and commitment of the regions coordinator Keith Mcliverty.

In November 2014 the MPD was requested to submit names to the AAA Traffic Safety Department.  AAA recognizes officers that take the lead on traffic enforcement.  Officer Todd Adams was given the award at the Monday, January 12, 2015 Police Commission meeting for Motor Vehicle Safety.  Adams was chosen after a review of traffic works and because Viadero said "he looks out for the speed monitoring equipment and he always out there running radar."

Officers Baskins and Cronin administer the Middlebury Explorer program which meets weekly st MPD with youth from Middlebury and Naugatuck participateomg.  The officers have been recruiting at local middle schools.

Pictured is Officer Baskins making one of many presentations he does at school for drug awareness and other current issues. The program is funded through donations, which are always welcomed.

Officer Ed Demers and the MPD's newest K-9 member "Jay" will begin training in February.  Chief Viadero would like to thank everyone who donated for making it possible for Jay to become a full-time member of the MPD.

Officer Demers and Jay anticipate graduating the second week of May 2015.

Chief Viadero presented a "bat shield" to the Police Commission at their August 2014 meeting.   The Chief explained that If an officer has to respond at an incident where they are confronting an armed individual, the shield could save their life.  Viadero explained that the shield is easy to deploy, can be carried in the officer’s vehicle, and most importantly they can use this shield to protect themselves as it will stop a bullet up to .40 caliber.

The Chief said that the shields cost anywhere between $2,200 and $2,800 each. The Chief will speak with Mr. McLiverty at Region 15 about possible funding for these shields. 

All who attended the Swearing-In Ceremony for Chief James Viadero will agree that it made Middlebury history. There were over 175 sworn personnel, residents and Town employees in attendance at the Westover School Tuesday evening.

The Town thanks Westover for their generous donation of the use of the Auditorium as well as the refreshments.