CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia State Police have a new set of members ready to work following graduation.
The graduation ceremony for the 70th Cadet Class was held Friday at the West Virginia State Culture Center and featured 26 individuals.
“This class we have here is a tight, close-knit class. They are a good group of men and women,” First Sergeant J.C. ‘Jay’ Powers, the Director of Professional Development told MetroNews.
Academy training began on January 17 and featured both in-classroom work for impaired driving and domestic violence and in the field such as firearms and crime scenes. The 26 graduates completed 800 hours of training at the academy Institute.
Powers said it’s a mixed bag of backgrounds for the 26 graduates. Powers said some came to the academy with prior law enforcement experience in city, county and DNR and some are brand new to the badge.
During the ceremony, graduate Trooper Lee Anthony Beggs was awarded the Outstanding Officer Award, graduate Trooper Samantha Denise Morris was named the Perseverance Award recipient and the class valedictorian was Trooper Bryar Gale Spencer. Trooper T.A. Ellis is the 70th Cadet Class Representative and spoke during the ceremony.
The 70th Cadet Class roster also includes Noah James Adams, Matthew Cortland Boggs, Cameran Jacob Lewis Boone, Isaiah Lee Bowman, Zachary Keith Bragg, Nathaniel Parker Clifton, Matthew Quinn Ellison, Troy Alexander Fisher, Daniel Patrick Gisler, Michael Shaun Hall, Noah Lee Harmon, Zachary Lee Lackey, Nathan Robert Lewis, Robert Louis Mabin II, Jacob Matthew Massile, David Alexander Northcraft, Jacob Dalton Reedy, Austin Lee Simms, Joshua Ward Speicher, Sean Michael Ward, Sean Raymond Wilfong, and Logan Aaron-Lee Wriston.
“It’s not just a cliche to say that this professional career, you can make a difference in people’s lives and you can make a difference in the communities you serve,” Col. Jan Cahill, Superintendent of West Virginia State Police told the troopers.
The class began with 32 prospects. Powers said the’s close to average but the State Police would prefer the next class in August to be larger.
This is the first class to fall under that 10-thousand dollar pay raise for troopers. The starting salary is now $55,000 a year.
“In this climate of everything going on in the country, it’s hard to recruit law enforcement. So we as the West Virginia State Police are excited to get these men and women out there,” Powers said.