Class highlights: 57% have post-secondary education
4 candidates are Military Veterans, with half of those active in the National Guard.
17% have military experience
One recruit is a naturalized US citizen from Bangladesh, and several of our candidates are fluent in Bengali.
On Saturday, Feb. 26th, at Storer Auditorium on the Onondaga Community College campus, the Syracuse Regional Police Academy Class #23 was sworn-in, 23 new Syracuse Police Officer recruits. The National Anthem was performed by Officer Judith Par-Lwei, Invocation/Benediction delivered by Pastor Lateef Johnson-Kinsey. Remarks by Chief Buckner and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.
The new Police Officers will go through a 26-week long regional police academy, which will include physical fitness training, firearms training, emergency vehicle operations training, first aid, Crisis Intervention training, and instruction about New York State, Federal and Local Laws related to law enforcement. After the police academy, the new Officers will then complete a 12-week long Field Training Program, where they will work side-by-side with a veteran Officer.
Mayor Walsh had words of encouragement for the new recruits, saying “When city residents were polled, who has a guess at what they were most concerned about?” There was a short pause, then an answer, “violence?” shouted from a voice on the stage.
Walsh continues,” Violence, crime, public safety, exactly. So, this narrative that our police are not wanted or not needed in the city is completely false. Number one concern of city residents, of those that you are living among and that you’ll be serving, is public safety. So, please know, that taking on this awesome responsibility, you are helping all of us address the number one concern of those that we serve. And while occasionally, or maybe even more than that, you’re going to run into people that aren’t particularly happy to see you. Please know that the vast majority of the people that you serve, not only want you doing your job, they desperately need you doing your job. So, I want to thank you for stepping up and answering that call to service.”
Chief Kenton Buckner addressed the recruits, especially the audience of guests when he described the importance of this class. “I want you to understand the gravity of the moment, support them, encourage them, it takes significant courage to step forward in this profession, in this city, during this time.”
Some statistics applicable to this class; 57% of the recruits have post-secondary education, 4 candidates are Military Veterans, with half of those active in the National Guard. 17% have military experience.
One recruit is a naturalized US citizen from Bangladesh, and several of our candidates are fluent in Bengali. One thing that distinguishes this class from any other in recent history, is that 100% of the candidates will live in the City of Syracuse by the time they have completed training. This is a result of action by the Syracuse Common Council, as implemented by the Mayor’s Office and Syracuse Police Department.
There are compelling reasons why some chose to become Syracuse Police Officers. If there are 23 recruits you can possibly find 23 reasons they’ve chosen a career in Law enforcement, the following are just two.
According to recruit Kyaw-Paw Kaly, “I want to be a police officer because I grew up in the city of Syracuse, and the city of Syracuse has given me so many opportunities. I want to give back to the community as a police officer.
When I was younger, I would get beat up a lot, the neighborhood kids would target me because of the fact that I was a refugee and because of my race. I attended a local boxing gym to defend myself, so I learned martial arts skills.”
The Butternut Community Police Center can be partially credited with Kaly’s decision to become a police officer. Kaly continues, “The center was a place where youth like me could go to take refuge, hang out, build connections, it was welcoming to everybody. It was run by Officer Ken Burdick and he kind-of became my role model. And that’s also where I met David Flagg. David offered me an employment opportunity, where I was able to earn money. I was very serious about my education, and I know I didn’t want to end up in the streets.”
Kaly grew up on the 1000 block of Highland Street, as he describes “there’s a lot of violence and a lot of neighborhood disruptions. My family and I lived in an apartment where the neighbors would play loud music at two, three in the morning. To the point where it would affect my performance at school. I informed David about my problems, and he welcomed me into his home in the Eastwood neighborhood.
Because of everything, the upbringing, the opportunities that was given by the community, I want to give back to the community as a police officer. Now, that I’m given the chance, I want to do my best as a police officer to help the community, help the people of Syracuse.”
Recruit Nazmus Sakib Muhammad Numan comes to the Syracuse Police Department from a military background, “I’m a current service member in the US National Guard New York. When I joined the military, I saw this as a way to help the people, to work for the state, to work for the country as well. Because I’m an Army National Guard member, my chain of command told me to do something that helps the people of the state, county, or in the city.
I was looking for a job also, and I found out the Syracuse Police Department was hiring. The state of New York is scenic, and I really like upstate New York, even though I’m from Long Island. so, I applied for the job.
Not new to upstate New York, Numan has worked in Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo before, as he was working the Covid mission. “I found this is a very beautiful place to work, the community and people are beautiful and that’s why I’m here.”
Below are the new recruits:
Syracuse Regional Police Academy Class #23
- Stephen Brewster
- Austin J. Bush
- John R. Canastrare
- Shaun M. Chamberlin
- Liam F. Cooper
- Christopher P. Cramer
- Jason W. Decker
- Anthony J. Gleason, Jr.
- Simon E. Greenfield-Tuttle
- Michael E. Jensen
- Kyam P. Klay
- Daniel M. Kuehnle
- Bradley D. McGraw-Wixson
- Nazmus Sakib Numan
- Jasim U. Pasha
- Tyler J. Ponticello
- Alan T. Roberts
- Gillian P. Rodrigues
- Jacob S. Romanick
- Marco V. Santomissino
- Tori R. Townsend-Goldthwait
- Brett J. Traupman
- James T. Zollo
