Police Swear in Three New Hires

With wide smiles and family in the audience, the three newest members of the Newtown police department were sworn in on Friday.

Matthew Ryan Pirhala, 23, Paula Jillanne Wickman, also 23, and Joseph Vincent Michael, 29 took their oath of police service in the conference room at 3 Main St. as family, state and local officials and police department colleagues looked on.

All three were born and raised in the area – Wickman in Newtown, Pirhala in Southbury and Michael in Danbury.

They started their first day of work Thursday and will head to the Connecticut Police Academy next Friday where they will begin five months of training, then return to Newtown for four more months of field work before they will become full-fledged police officers.

“Furious activity over three months have given us three people who rose to the top and we are very, very happy to have them,” said police Lt. Christopher Vanghele, who oversaw the hiring process.

The hiring process began in January when 190 people arrived at Newtown High School to take the written test, which was followed by an oral interview and physical agility test.

The top 25 who passed their physical agility who underwent a background investigation, polygraph test and psychological and medical evaluation before six were asked to interview with the Police Commission, who ultimately made the three selections.

All three said they remembered wanting to become police officers at a young age and the openings gave them the opportunity.

“When you are a kid, everybody wants to be a police officer – I never grew out of it,” said Pirhala, who graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 2009 with a bachelor’s in justice and law administration.

Pirhala held the distinction of being the only one of the three married – having exchanged vows with his wife, Jessica, only six months ago.

Michael, a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, is the oldest of the three, and had been working as an accountant in Shelton when he decided to pursue a police career.

“I’ll enjoy this a lot more,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to interacting with people on a daily basis. “It’s the right career for my personality.”

Unlike the other two, Wickman has been through the process before, having been hired by the West Hartford police department although she left before she was certified because she said the environment didn’t suit her.

Wickman, who also is the assistant chief for Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue and a canine handler for the Connecticut Search and Rescue, said she was excited to have been hired in her hometown of Newtown.

“It’s the community I grew up in, it’s my community,” she said, adding she remembered becoming interested in police work as a 12-year-old in the local D.A.R.E. program, which was run by then police officer George Sinko, who is now a department lieutenant.

Wickman said her goal is to one day become a K-9 officer, having had experience as a canine handler.

At the police ceremony, Wickman was approached by First Selectman Pat Llodra, who appeared pleased to discover that Wickman's senior year at Newtown High School was the one that Llodra presided over as interim principal.

“I graduated you,” Llodra told her.

The three officers will bring the department's staffing level to 45 with one opening left to fill. The department had been down four officers after left last year to become a Brookfield dispatcher, which was followed this year by three departures -- , and .