37 graduate the Virginia State Police Academy

The 37 members of the 131st Basic Session officially graduated Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in advance of their originally scheduled graduation date of Friday, March 20, 2020. In accordance with Governor Ralph Northam’s directives related to COVID-19, traditional commencement exercises were canceled for Friday for the 36 new Troopers and one new Special Agent Accountant.

“This is the first time in decades that state police have had to postpone an Academy graduation ceremony,” said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent. “However, this in no way diminishes the Department’s pride in or appreciation of these new Troopers and Special Agent Accountant joining our ranks. We look forward to bringing these men and women and their families to our campus at a later date in order to properly celebrate their accomplishments of completing the Virginia State Police Academy.”

Colonel Settle met with the graduates mid-morning Tuesday for an official Uniform Inspection and to share a few final words with the class. The new Troopers and Special Agent Accountant then filed into the Academy and proceeded up the marble steps – which is an honor only afforded the trainees upon graduation. At the top of the steps, Colonel Settle and the Academy Staff officially congratulated the graduates. Colonel Settle presented each graduate with a Superintendent’s Challenge Coin.

“Since these graduates will not receive their official diploma until their graduation ceremony, each was presented a Challenge Coin,” said Colonel Settle. “They are the only State Police graduates to ever receive a coin from the Superintendent, which I hope they accept as a constant reminder of their oath to serve our Commonwealth with valor and pride, especially during such challenging times.”

The class has received more than 1,300 hours of classroom and field instruction in more than 100 different subjects, including defensive tactics, crime scene investigation, ethics and leadership, survival Spanish, police professionalism, firearms, judicial procedures, officer survival, cultural diversity, and crisis management. The members of the 131st Basic Session began their 29 weeks of academic, physical and practical training at the Academy on Aug. 21, 2019.

The graduates of the 131st Basic Session are from every corner of the Commonwealth, as well as Florida, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina.

The new Troopers will report to their individual duty assignments across Virginia the week of March 23, 2020. For their final phase of training, each Trooper will spend an additional six weeks paired up with a Field Training Officer learning his or her new patrol area. Special Agent Accountant Mills will report to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office to begin his final training phase.

131st BASIC GRADUATING CLASS

Ian Trent Abernathy – Chesapeake Portsmouth/Suffolk/Chesapeake
Abdulrahman Mohamed Aboutabl – Harrisonburg Augusta
Thomas Jefferson Acosta, Jr. – Jacksonville, FL New Kent
Rafael J. Aguayo – Ridge, NY Henrico
John Joseph Barrera, III  – Williamsburg Norfolk/Virginia Beach
William Hooker Bonnet, IV – Forest Arlington
Anthony Joseph Bradt, Jr.  – Bloomingburg, NY Prince William
Shane Douglas Brooks – Chilhowie Roanoke
Jacob Allen Burke – Radford Arlington
Travis Todd Carr – Ivor Isle of Wight
Adam Van Clampitt – Lynchburg Campbell
Ridge Tamos Duncan – Burke Prince William
Johnathan Dale Fish – Lynchburg Chesterfield
Timothy Manning Fisher – Wake Forest, NC Accomack
Sean Edward Glennan – Sewell, NJ Henrico
Joshua Bryan Good – Luray Shenandoah
Cody Edward Gray – Bland Russell
Ricky Ray Hairston – Eden, NC Campbell
Jordan Holt Hamlett – Naruna Campbell
Joseph Holloman, III – Windsor Brunswick
Nathan Allen Jennings – Dublin Roanoke
Duane Hunter Knox – Troutdale Roanoke
Jackson Stuart Peach Lowther – Gloucester Frederick
Brooke Louise Martin – Mechanicsville New Kent
John Hume Mills*  – Gainesville Appomattox
Paul Steven Perry – Gate City Portsmouth/Suffolk/Chesapeake
Indiana Jacob Raccanello – Locust Grove Culpeper
Jacob William Reaves – Chatham Greene
Dru Imani Khianti Redden-Robinson – Chantilly Fairfax
Travon Lamont Smith – South Hill Brunswick
Derek Emanuel Spencer – Abingdon Botetourt
Nathan Andrew Stidham – Wise Craig
Larry Darnell Tucker, Jr. – Hurt Amherst
Benjamin Perfecto Villa, II – Palmyra Augusta
Alexander Frederick West – Culpeper Frederick
Shawn Douglas Williams – Ewing Nottoway
Holden Seth Young – Lebanon Botetourt

*Special Agent Accountant