Trumbull Getting New Dog, 2 Officers

Trumbull has three new officers, one of them with four feet.

K9 Storm joins Cyrus, who started in late 2010. Officer Gregory Lee and Officer R.J. Carlson are their handlers, respectively.

The new handler, Officer Greg Lee, was presented the Top Academic Excellence
Award for the class, for receiving an overall average score of 98 percent.

Lee is a12-year veteran of the town’s police force and has worked the evening shift for the past several years.  He is also a member of the regional Emergency Response Team.  He selected “Storm,” a 20-month old German Shepherd, just prior to the training class last year, based on the  dog’s temperament and suitability for police work.

The new team will be working  the day shift, but will be on-call around the clock when needed in Trumbull or as mutual aide to surrounding towns when requested.

Two New Officers

Meanwhile, two new human officers added to the force makes five new officers hired in the last 15 months, said Deputy Police Chief Glenn Byrnes.

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Robert Pysz, 22, of Seymour, began the New Haven Police Academy on Jan. 2, and James Soto, 30, a married father of one, living in Shelton, began the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden on Jan. 4, said Deputy Police Chief Michael Harry.

The department can have a maximum of 75 officers but has 73 at the moment. Byrnes noted that 27 officers will be eligible for retirement by the end of 2013, or 37 percent of the force.

Police Chief Thomas Kiely will ask for three additional officer positions, according to Byrnes.