Thirty-one new troopers joined the ranks of the Virginia State Police following graduation ceremonies Friday for the recently completed 137th Basic Session. Among the 31 troopers are two that will begin their service in Gloucester and Mathews counties.
Graduates Jacob Alexander Culp and Mallory Ann Yowell will serve here. Culp, of Forest, has been assigned to Gloucester while Yowell, of Charlottesville, has been selected to serve in Mathews.
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. Culp, Yowell and their 29 classmates began their 28 weeks of academic, physical and practical training at the State Police Training Academy last June.
The graduates hail from every corner of the state,...