New Haven has 26 new police officers on the force, including Jennifer Mancini.
"I'm just very excited and we've had the greatest training," she said as her four proud kids looked on. "It means so much that they're here and that they made it here and they were able to see me walk across the stage."
Mancini and other graduates are getting to work after a violent weekend in New Haven. On Sunday morning police investigated a fatal shooting at an East Street club along with three other non fatal incidents.
"All these cases were unrelated," said Assistant Chief Achilles Generoso. "A number of them were domestic related which are sometimes out of our control. But today's a good day for the New Haven Police Department."
It's a department that also dealt with a violent home invasion and assault at a Yale owned apartment building along with one attempted and successful robbery Monday night. Still Mayor John DeStefano touted the decreasing crime statistics.
"These officers and what they do is really important," DeStefano said.
"It also reinvigorates the department because now we know the cavalry has started arriving," said Sergeant Anthony Campbell, director of the New Haven Police Department.
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In fact the department says it needs the boost they got since they're operating at a deficit. Sergeant Campbell helped present degrees to the 26 New Haven recruits in addition to 15 other officers who are off to other departments.
"All day I've been crying. All day," said Omar Thomas, who was crying because his mom was in the audience after just getting out of the hospital Tuesday. "I told her to stay home but she knew how much this meant to me."
Sergeant Campbell says this is truly the beginning of the rebuilding of New Haven's Department. They'll walk the beat with a veteran officer for the next three months before they're on their own.
