BRAINTREE — Chief Mark W. Dubois is pleased to announce the academy graduation of the three newest officers of the Braintree Police Department.
Officers John Donahue, Arthur Venier and Matthew Gillis graduated from the MBTA Transit Police Academy’s 44th Municipal Police Officers’ Class on Friday, April 3, 2020.
The 22-week program features classroom and practical training in all areas of law enforcement including firearms training, traffic enforcement, use of force, domestic violence and criminal and procedural law.
Mayor Charles C. Kokoros held a private swearing-in ceremony on Monday, April 6 for the three officers at Braintree Town Hall.
“We are excited to see Officers Donahue, Venier and Gillis join the ranks of the Braintree Police Department,” Mayor Kokoros said. “I wish them well in their careers and thank them for their dedication to our community.”
The academy usually recognizes graduating classes at a formal graduation ceremony at Faneuil Hall. However, the ceremony was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The academy is the first part of the new officers’ training, as they will now participate in the Braintree Police Department’s field training program. They will spend the next 12 weeks under the guidance of a field training officer before being assigned to a shift. Their field training has begun at home with online policy and procedure reviews for two weeks.
Officer Donahue holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Merrimack College. Prior to attending the police academy, he worked as a security officer at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a 2018 graduate of the Northeastern Regional Police Institute’s Reserve-Intermittent Police Officer Training course.
Officer Venier holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts. Prior to attending the police academy, he was a lieutenant at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. Officer Venier received the Officer Sean Collier Memorial Award for academic achievement at the police academy for having the highest academic average of his classmates.
Officer Gillis holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston University. Before joining the department, he worked as a public safety officer at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Officer Gillis was also an intern at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the Boston University Police Department and the Braintree Police Department while attending college.
All three officers are Braintree natives.
“Congratulations to these three officers on completing the police academy’s rigorous training program,” Chief Dubois said. “Each of their backgrounds, experience and skillset will make them tremendous assets to our department.”
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