Madison Police Department Hires Three More Officers

The Madison Police Department has hired three new police officers.

The new hires will help replenish the department's ranks, which were reduced in over a period of many months when six experienced police officers retired. The retirements were due primarily to the expiration of a union contract that provided for generous medical benefits.

Madison Police Officer Joseph Race, the department's spokesman, said Tuesday that the new hires bring the staffing levels in the department up to 26, two short of 28, the level considered "full strength" by Madison Police Chief Jack Drumm.

Addition of second in command to department will bring staffing levels up to 27

Race said that Drumm is in the process of determining who his new second in command will be, following the departure of Police Captain Jon Pardo in April. "We are in the final stages of that process," he said. "We should know soon who that is going to be." That hire will bring the department up to 27, Race said.

In addition to Chief Drumm, the department currently has one lieutenant, two  sergeants, three detectives, and 19 patrol officers. The goal of the department is to increase the ranks of sergeant to six, Race said. 

"We will be promoting three to sergeant" likely sometime within the next month or so, Race said. He said it's likely that those sergeants will come from the current ranks of patrol officers and detectives.

Most recent new hires include men with police experience and people experience

The New Haven Register reports that the new hires include:

Benjamin Hoffman with nine years of police experience, most recently at Groton Long Point where he was sergeant. He also has served with the Homestead Florida Police Department and the Eastern Connecticut State University Police Department ... Daniel Wilczek with six years of police work, most recently New Milford where he was a police officer since 2006 and left as a trainee in the detective division ... Robert Zeidenberg has no policing experience, but he enters the academy with a lot of people experience. He comes from the automotive field, holding positions over the course of 22 years and changing locations for career advancement opportunities.

For more details about the new hires, read this article in the New Haven Register.

Officer Christopher Sudock was hired in April.

New hires follow retirement of six experienced police officers

The new hires follow the retirement of six experienced Madison police officers since late 2011. Those retirements include:

• Sgt. Trent Fox who retired in October
• Lt. Al Gerard who retired March
• Captain Jon Pardo who retired in April
• Lt. John Dobbin who retired in June
• Lt. Michael O'Connor who retired in June
• Patrol Office Senior Grade John McDevitt who retired in June

The police officers left to protect their benefits, which are tied to the union contract. Police officers covered under a contract negotiated in 2005 would have lost generous medical and pension benefits in retirement if they didn't leave the department by June 30th.

The department's current roster is as follows:

Office of the Chief of Police
Chief John "Jack" Drumm 

Lieutenants
Lt. Robert Stimpson 

Sergeants
Sgt. Bryan Baxter
Sgt. Ernest Boggs, Jr.

Detectives
Sgt. R. Neal Mulhern
Det. Richard Perron
Det. Philip Rosati

Patrol
Officer Patricia Alonso
Officer Alexandra Blackwell
Officer Samuel Brown
Officer Richard Buchetto
Officer Thomas Bull
Officer Jason Dolce
Officer Harold French
Officer Benjamin Hoffman
Officer Kimberly Lauria
Officer Gregory Martin
Officer Scott Pardales
Officer Brian Phillips
Officer Michael Pugliese
Officer Joseph Race
Officer William Roy
Officer Christopher Sudock
Officer Daniel Wilczek
Officer Jeremy Yorke
Officer Robert Zeidenberg