I had the opportunity to visit the Ledyard Police Department last week to tour their impressive facility and spend some time with the fantastic police officers and dispatchers who keep the greater Ledyard area safe.

Upon walking into the department, I was greeted by Officer Kyle Gleason, who served as the tour guide for the morning. He did a fantastic job introducing me to the department. First, we went into their dispatch center and met two of the nine dispatchers at the department, including one who is currently in training. There is a minimum of two dispatchers on duty at a time to serve the town, and this includes dispatch for EMS, fire, and police. One of the things I witnessed was that they are indeed on the front lines and must react quickly to ever-changing situations. These dispatchers are the first to respond to our emergency calls, including many life and death situations that happen each day. It was very informative and all I can say is that I was impressed by the entire department and their dedication to Ledyard and the surrounding area.

From there, I met Ledyard Police Chief John Rich who was fantastic to talk to. He and Officer Gleason gave me a rundown of the roster of Ledyard Police Department that has a total of 24 officers, and two animal control officers. There is also one Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) on the roster at the police department out of a total of only 70 in our entire state! I learned that the training to become a DRE is very intense and not for everyone. With such a small number of these experts across Connecticut, they do need to respond outside of Ledyard’s 40-square miles to offer mutual aide to surrounding police departments.

Officer Gleason then took me downstairs to show off their weight room and locker room facilities and then into the holding area where people who are arrested are processed. Not that you would want to find out firsthand, but even that part of the police station was well-maintained. The lock-up was impressive as it is very robust, and extremely secure. We ended the morning on a ride along where I was shown the driving routes, the neighborhoods and some of the priorities of the Police Department. I am thankful to everyone for showing me around and so impressed with how friendly everyone from the different neighborhoods were with the officers. It was great to see the positive relationships the police and Ledyard & Gales Ferry residents have with one another.

I want to thank Chief Rich, Officer Gleason, and the entire Ledyard Police Department family for welcoming me. I refer to them as a family not just because of the fellowship that they all share, but the friendships they have formed was quite clear with everyone that I had the pleasure to meet. Please stay safe!