Nine new Virgin Islands law enforcement cadets were sworn in Friday in St. Croix’s Government House Ballroom.
Marching smartly between the rows of chairs, then standing at attention at the front of the ballroom, the group of crisply uniformed officers were led in their oath of office by V.I. Superior Court Judge Daryl Donohue. Three of them, wearing the wide-brimmed straw campaign hats of their peers, went from being cadets to V.I. Superior Court Marshals, one young lady in a business suit joined V.I. Police Department Internal Affairs and five, two women and three men, wore the eight-pointed hat of V.I. Police Department officers.
Police and elected dignitaries took to the podium, commending the young men and women for taking up the task of law enforcement and also reminding them of the dangers they face, both to their person and to their character.
"Every day you new officers take to the street, you may be called upon to perform acts of bravery," Training Director Douglas Jones said. "There will be forces out there that will test your fidelity to your duty."
St. Croix Police Chief Oakland Benta spoke of the violence, the accidents and the worst aspects of human nature they would see as police officers, asking "are you ready for that?" as a refrain after each challenge is named.
"Realize, the community will entrust you with their lives and their safety. Are you ready for that?" he said.
Officer Andrea Claxton, the class leader, said the cadets were asked at the outset to come up with a name for their class and chose "Spartans," inspired by the movie story of the 300 warriors of ancient Sparta who held off the entire Persian army.
"Today we’ve taken an oath to serve the people of the Virgin Islands," Claxton said. "We all want to see our island back under control and returned to what it once was. Our motto is with strength and courage we shall never fail, a few among many, we stand tall; Spartans. We will be in a constant fight against the forces taking over our island. But if we can stop one kid from ruining his life, that is a change made."
Acting Police Commissioner Novelle Francis said public trust in the police had been eroded and the new recruits, along with all police officers, must ensure they work to rebuild that trust to enable the community and police to work together to make the streets safe.
"The heroism of the 300 was not about their ability to fight but about their ability to cooperate to serve the greater good," he said. Police officers see the carnage of terrible accidents, deal with the aftermath of terrible violence and regularly see the worst of human nature, he said.
"You will find your work rewarding on a daily basis," he said. "But it is also overwhelming at times. … Remember that every day you wear you uniform you have an awesome duty and opportunity to positively change another person’s life and your service will help to build a better future for our community."
The graduates were: police officers Ashley Benton, Andrea Claxton, Moses Francis, Lawrence James and Dirk Marshall; Internal Affairs Agent Vimaris Corcino and Superior Court marshals Sylvester Augustin, Wilber Francis and Chris Richardson.
