BY JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — The Police Department welcomed its six newest members on Friday with a packed swearing in ceremony in the police station roll call room.

Earning their department badges during the ceremony were Probationary Patrolmen Scott Berguet, Matthew Bourgoin, Joseph Brazil, Daniel Lajoie, Justin LaRoche, and Michael Velino.
The new department probationary officers were all graduated from the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy earlier in the day on Friday and will now begin 12 weeks of on-the-job training with department field training instructors.
Police Chief Thomas S. Carey praised the latest group of local academy graduates for their hard work in reaching graduation and said he believed the department had made good choices in selecting them for that opportunity.
“It can be difficult to offer employment to the right people but as you can see today, we did offer employment to the right people and I am very proud of each and everyone of them for what they have accomplished,” Carey said of the new department members.
The class actually had a seventh member to be sworn in on Friday but who suffered a late injury in physical training.
Caitlin Deslatte, who holds a bachelor degree in anthropology from Northwestern University and a masters in historical archaeology from the University of Massachusetts, is expected to complete the requirements after recovering from her leg injury and will continue to work part-time for the department until that time, Carey noted. 
The chief listed the qualifications of each of remaining class members as they were called to the podium.
Breguet holds a bachelor degree from the University of Rhode Island and is a First Lt. in U.S. Army Reserve with 10 months of service in Iraq, Carey noted.
LaRoche is enrolled at URI where he is studying criminal justice. He is a member of the R.I. Air National Guard and has deployed to Southwest Asia as part of a Quick Reaction Team. He has also worked as a R.I. DEM park ranger.
Velino holds an associate degree in law enforcement from the Community College of Rhode Island and served four years of duty with the U.S. Coast Guard, holding the rank of Boatswains Mate 3rd Class. He participated in numerous search and rescue operations, and has also worked as a Park Ranger Supervisor for the DEM, Carey said.
Brazil is working on his law enforcement degree at CCRI and is a member of the Rhode Island Air National Guard’s Security Forces.
Bourgoin is working on his law enforcement degree at CCRI and has worked as a security officer for IPC International at the R.I. Mall.
Lajoie holds an associate degree in law enforcement from the Community College of Rhode Island and has also worked in customer service and management in the home improvement industry.
The chief also had a few words of advice for the class members, reminding them of the requirements of the Police Code of Conduct they reviewed as part of their studies and pointed to the sections that will guide their service within the local department.
The fundamental duty of a police officer includes “service to the community, safeguarding lives and property, protecting the innocent, keeping the peace, and ensuring the rights to liberty, equality and justice,” Carey said.
An officer must perform that duty impartially and also never allow personal feelings, animosities or friendships to influence official conduct, he said. Police must work to “inspire confidence and respect for the position of public trust they hold,” Carey said while quoting the code.
Officers must also never employ unnecessary force or violence and should use “only such force in the discharge of duty that is reasonable in all circumstances,” he said.
Police officers must have integrity, cooperate with other officers and agencies and also maintain high standards of professional performance and continuously work to improve their knowledge level and competence, according to Carey.
He also told the department rookies that as police officers, the code requires them to “behave in a manner that does not bring discredit to their agencies or themselves.”
Recent events in the news have raised cases where police officers may have failed in heeding that requirement but that only underscores the need for all new police officers and department veterans to hold it in high regard, he said.
 “Whether you are a probationary patrolman just coming onto the job or a veteran officer with more than 20 years service, we all have to behave ethically and in accordance with the law,” Carey said.
 As he has done in previous swearing in ceremonies since taking a command last year, Carey again advised the new members to maintain strong ties with family as a balance to their department duties.
“I’ve been in this business 28 years and I can tell you the most important thing for you as an individual is your family,” Carey said. “Make sure you don’t forget your family. At the end of your career, when you put all this aside, they are the ones who will be waiting for you,” Carey said.
 The officers then, each in turn, raised their right hands and took their oaths under Carey’s guidance as new members of the department.
 Their family members were there to pin on their badges and give them proud hugs and applause. The crowd celebrating the new arrivals also contained many current department members and even some of the department’s retirees of recent years.
 Probationary Patrolman Matthew Bourgoin said the crowd made it a very proud day for he and his classmates.
 “I think it was definitely something to take to heart,” he said. “Especially what the chief said,” Bourgoin added. “That was definitely something to live by.”
 

  
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