The Wilton Police Department has four new recruits, sworn in on Monday night, bringing the department to fully staffed for the first time in more than a year.

Wilton, as with many small departments in the area, has long struggled with recruitment and retention of officers. So much so that in June, Chief Eric Olesen asked voters for a $30,000 amendment to the police budget specifically to target recruitment and retention. Those funds were approved, but the chief and Select Board have yet to come to an agreement on the best way to use them, though the Select Board is scheduled to continue discussion on the issue during a non-public work session on Monday, regarding salary and merit increase pools for town departments.

Town Administrator Paul Branscombe confirmed Wednesday that recruitment bonuses weren’t offered to the new recruits from the $30,000 approved at Town Meeting, and that none of those funds have been distributed.

With the four new recruits, the department is expected to be back up to its full complement of eight full-time officers, after three of the recruits complete the police academy this winter.

The new recruits are David Pardue, Michael Ellis, Brendhan Harris and Nina Rak, who received their badges from family members or significant others in a ceremony at Town Hall Monday evening, at the start of the Select Board meeting.

Pardue comes to the department already certified as a full-time officer, with certifications as a field training officer, who works with new officers going to or having just come out of the academy. He has a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Springfield College, managed a personal training center and then owned his own business in personal training before becoming a police officer in 2016.

Pardue said he has always been interested in law enforcement, coming from a family of police officers, including his father and grandfather, who are retired police chiefs, and his brother, who is a lieutenant in Maine. He has spent his policing career so far as an officer in Derry before signing on with Wilton.

“I love the idea of community policing and establishing relationships in a small town and being part of a family with the people you work with in a smaller agency,” Pardue said. “The command staff has been welcoming and supportive, I immediately felt welcome and was welcomed kindly; that was  a huge attraction.”

Pardue will undergo a few weeks of field training under the command staff, and then be able to step in as a trained officer. He said his prior policing experience, and particularly his experience training other new recruits, with his fellow new three officers going through the academy, was a major plus for the department.

“I love to teach new officers and watch their growth and this vital part of their career, which is their initial training,” Pardue said. “Teaching is a real passion of mine in this field.”

Rak, who lives in Nashua with her husband and son, is new to the field of law enforcement after a long career in the automotive industry. Most recently, she worked in the parts department of a Ford dealership.

“This is a completely different career for me,” Rak said. “I’ve always been interested in it; it’s something I’ve always wanted to try. I was a member of the Police Explorers program in high school. I’m currently in the best mental and physical shape I’ve ever been in, and everything lined up for me to make this change and begin a new career.”

Rak, originally from Pelham, said she wanted to start that career in a small community.

“I came from a small town,” she said. “I got to know our school resource officer and police officers. I love getting to know people’s lives and stories, and talk to people from all walks of life. This community seems great to work in.”

Ellis, of Manchester, is already known in the Wilton first responder community, having served for the last year on the Wilton Ambulance as an EMT. He became interested in becoming a first responder in high school at Manchester Central High School, where he completed trade programs offering certifications in firefighting and EMT training. His brother, who started as an EMT and is now a physician’s assistant, was an inspiration in pursuing that career, he said.

“It’s such a different job. You never know what’s going to happen, and you build strong bonds with your coworkers and you can make yourself involved with your community,” Ellis said of being a first responder.

Ellis said as a police officer, he has more opportunity to interact with people in the community, and has the ability to help more people in more varied situations than as a medical responder.

“They get involved in every call, whether it’s EMS, police or fire, they’re on the scene. When you’re an EMT, it’s a station-based response; you’re not really out in the community unless you’re on a call. With policing, you’re in the community.”

Harris, of Manchester, recently graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a degree in justice studies, and said he has been planning to be a police officer since middle school, following in the footsteps of his father, a Virginia Beach police officer.

“I really like the idea of community policing,” Harris said. “My dad was a city cop. I want to do something different. In a smaller town, it’s easier to do that.”

Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

 

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