Old Lyme ― With the swearing in Thursday of 24-year-old Ethan Kula as the police department’s newest recruit, local officials are hoping for a shift in the department’s reputation as a retirement job for state troopers and Old Saybrook officers.

Kula, a graduate of Farmington High School who is finishing his criminal justice degree at Central Connecticut State University, was sworn in by First Selectman Timothy Griswold at the Town Hall in preparation for starting the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden at the end of the month. He’ll train there for seven months before embarking on a 45-day field training program in town, according to Resident State Trooper Matthew Weber.

Kula was a member for three years of the Old Lyme Rangers, a cadre of summer workers tasked with patrolling the town’s public beaches under the police department’s direction.

Weber said Kula is the first recruit the department has sent to the academy since Corporal Dominic Solari attended back in 2006.

The department’s five full-time officers and three part-time officers include retirees from the state police and departments in Old Saybrook and East Haven, as well as one part-timer still employed in East Haven. In September, Officer Steven Hackett transferred from the Old Saybrook Police Department with 12 years of experience.

The Old Lyme Police Department is one of 53 towns throughout Connecticut participating in the resident state trooper program, which provides a dedicated state trooper in places that don't have an independent police department. Some of those towns, such as Colchester and Montville, use their resident state trooper to oversee a force of local officers. In Old Lyme, Weber is currently responsible for five full-time officers and three part-time officers with full police powers.

The town is under the supervision of the Troop F barracks in Westbrook under the command of Lt. Alex Cintron.

Weber said the connection with the state police traditionally made the small department a good landing spot for troopers who put in the 20 years necessary to retire with a pension and moved on.

“If you retire from the state police, you know the system very well,” he said. “It’s a very easy transition.”

But there’s a downside to that experience and ease, according to Weber. He said the department often gets only five years of service or so from officers who’ve retired from other departments.

“So we wanted to get somebody that has longevity,” he said. “We’ll get 20, 25 years out of Ethan, so it’s a huge investment for the town and we’re going to get that investment in return.”

Kula said he’s always known he wanted to be a police officer, but he didn’t know he wanted to be one in Old Lyme until he became a Ranger in 2019.

“It was an entry into the town for me,” he said. “It turned into a love.”

He said a future goal is to participate in youth programs so he can mentor aspiring police officers like Weber and Old Lyme police officer Wayne Collins did for him.

Collins has been with the force since 1996.

The new recruit’s parents, Lisa and Jonathan Kula, were at the swearing in ceremony with several family members including the aunt he will be living with in Old Lyme.

They said their son grew up as a protector who stood up for kids at school who were feeling left out.

“He’s always been the enforcer,” his mother said. “Everywhere he goes, he’s the leader; he makes sure rules are being followed.”

With many departments across the state and country reporting they are struggling to find qualified applicants due to stricter accountability standards and a poor public perception of law enforcement, Kula said he has no qualms about becoming a police officer.

The sweeping police accountability law passed by the Connecticut legislature in 2022 included requirements for every police department in the state to provide body cameras for all of their officers, mandated reports of excessive force by colleagues, banned chokeholds in most instances and rolled back some qualified immunity protections for officers, allowing civil lawsuits to be brought against them in certain cases.

Kula called more stringent police accountability guidelines a good thing.

“There’s been many years that officers have gone under the radar doing illicit stuff that they’re not supposed to,” he said. “I think our state has struck a nice balance between letting officers do their job and giving guidelines that build trust and transparency with the community.”

Kula’s arrival comes after police officer Jay Rankin agreed to retire almost a year after he was placed on paid leave and later arrested for an alleged altercation involving the use of a racist slur while volunteering as a firefighter in Old Saybrook. A settlement agreement signed Sept. 16 gave Rankin more than $20,000 and two-and-a-half years of insurance benefits in exchange for retiring and never working for the town again. Rankin has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case which is pending.

At the end of Thursday’s ceremony, Weber asked the room of local officials, police officers and Kula’s family and friends to continue offering the recruit their support as he goes through the academy, completes field training and becomes the newest member of the force.

“And he will need blessings and love for the rest of his long, healthy, happy career,” he said.

e.regan@theday.com