21 New Troopers Join Virginia State Police Ranks To Serve and Protect the Commonwealth

RICHMOND – On Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, the Commonwealth will graduate its 141^st generation of Virginia State Troopers. The 21 new troopers will be presented their diplomas during commencement exercises at 10 a.m. at the State Police Training Academy located at 7700 Midlothian Turnpike in North Chesterfield County. The Honorable Winsome Earle-Sears, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, will speak at the graduation ceremony.

“It is always a great day when we add quality, upstanding men and women to our ranks,” said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police.  “Our recruiting staff is committed to ensure the citizens of Virginia have the strongest department possible, and troopers who have the highest levels of professionalism.”

The new troopers have received more than 1,300 hours of classroom and field instruction in more than 100 different subjects, including de-escalation techniques, strategies to assist people in mental health crisis, ethics and leadership, fair and impartial policing, constitutional law, emergency medical trauma care, and public and community relations. The Trooper-Trainees of the 141^st Basic Session began their 28 weeks of academic, physical and practical training at the Academy January 29^th, 2024.

The soon-to-be graduates of the 141^st Basic Session are from multiple areas of the Commonwealth, as well as California, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Upon graduation, the new troopers will report to their individual duty assignments across Virginia. 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.

141st BASIC GRADUATING CLASS

Name	Hometown	Assignment
Chad Everett Brown	Evansville, Ind.	Henrico
Sammie Lee Buckhanon, Jr.	Newport News, Va.	Springfield
Emmerson LeGrant Carmichael, Jr.	Catlett, Va.	Arlington
Andrew Lawrence James Coe	Holland Patent, N.Y.	Chesterfield
Kenneth Ray Cooper, Jr.	Monroe, La.	Norfolk/Virginia Beach
Aiden M. Davis	Rutherford, N.J.	Norfolk/Virginia Beach
Alec Jae Ellard	Decaturville, Tenn.	Henry
Mitchell Patrick Fredrickson	Martinsburg, W. Va.	Bedford
Frank J. Jackson, Jr.	Pitman, N.J.	Rockingham
Aaron Michael Lawson-Gradle	Simi Valley, Calif.	Norfolk/Virginia Beach
Bradley Gerald Little	Menifee, Calif.	Orange
Michael Carmel Mabry, Jr.	Buckingham, Va.	Henrico
Jacob Lee Maxfield	Russell, Va.	Augusta
Brian Heraughty McCabe	Madison, Conn.	Augusta
Hayden Joshua Mick	Staunton, Va.	Augusta
Tiago M. Moreira	Boston, Mass.	Rockingham
Joshua Emmanuel Phillips	Brodnax, Va.	Greensville
Randy A. Taylor	Bridgeport, Conn.	Accomack
Jackson Timothy Ulmer	Fredericksburg, Va.	Bedford
Russell L. Williams, IV	Richmond, Va.	Henrico
Patrick Michael Young	Woodford, Va.	Accomack