The West Hartford Police Department held a promotion ceremony three members on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.

By Ronni Newton

The West Hartford Police Department’s training room was packed with family, friends, and other department members to join in the celebration of three promotions.

Honored Tuesday were newly-promoted Lt. Ross Friedman, Det. Merrick Forader, and Animal Control Ofc. Kimberly Gulino, who has been named supervisor of the Animal Control Division.

“In addition to recognizing our three promotees, these ceremonies give us a great opportunity to honor all of the members of our police department,” Town Manager Rick Ledwith said. “Thank you for all that you do every day to keep our community safe.”

He told those being promoted that their promotions are “testament to your hard work, perseverance, and the positive impact you have made within our department” and wished them continued success.

Chief Vernon Riddick said the promotional process involves a lot of work to achieve the next rank, and thanked the three who decided to step up. Noting the cliché about leading a horse to water, he said, “As you step into leadership, part of your role is why isn’t that horse drinking?” Finding out the “why” is very important, Riddick said.

Reading a quote about leadership from the late Secretary of State Colin Powell, the chief urged the newly promoted to fight against seeing this as “just a job. … You guys have led from the front, the middle, and at times, the rear.”

Riddick thanked and encouraged the newly promoted and urged them to continue professional development. “Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know,” he said.

Asst. Chief Larry Terra read the biographies of the three who were promoted, who were then administered the oath of office by Ledwith, and pinned by family members.

Lt. Ross Friedman

Friedman moved to Connecticut with his wife and then-6-month-old daughter when he was hired by the West Hartford Police Department in July 2012, and since then has served in many roles, on all three shifts.

His assignments have been with the Patrol Division, Detective Division (as a detective and sergeant), seven years as a SWAT team operator and sniper with the Emergency Services Unit, Field Training Officer, and taser and arrest and control instructor. He has also been a member of the Traffic Division’s Fatal Accident Reconstruction Team, the West Hartford Auto Theft Task Force, supervisor of the Bicycle Unit, and part of the Professional Standards Unit. During his tenure he has also been coordinator of the Field Training and Evaluation Program and Digital Evidence manager.

He attended the Direct Action Resource Center’s Law Enforcement Counter Terrorism course in Little Rock, AK, and has been a licensed drone pilot since 2020, leading the department’s Aviation Unit which now has eight pilots and a state-of-the-art fleet.

Friedman received a life-saving award for response to the victim of a stabbing in 2018, and a unit citation in response to an incident in 2019 where an intoxicated suspect was threatening to shoot at police in order to commit “suicide by cop” and was in the vicinity of a local elementary school. The suspect was ultimately incapacitated with a taser and then-detective Friedman “removed a fully loaded 9mm gun from the suspect’s hand,” Terra said, before the suspect was safely taken into custody.

Another notable incident in Friedman’s career involved what initially appeared to be a routine call involving a man soliciting without a permit, who was found to have an outstanding warrant for failing to pay a ticket. Terra recounted that while another officer was booking the suspect, Friedman noticed that his fingerprints had been shaved off and “had a hunch that something suspicious was afoot with this arrestee.” The suspect also had a distinctive tattoo on his forehead, and Friedman’s fortuitous call to the Camden County (New Jersey) Police Department led to the discovery that the suspect “was an outstanding suspect of a shooting wherein the victims were two police officers and their infant child” and was on the run from their department and also wanted by the FBI’s violent gang task force. The suspect was extradited to face multiple charges, including attempted murder.

Friedman has a bachelor’s degree in political science from UConn, and is currently working on his master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Have. He is also a 2021 graduate of the Capital Region Chiefs of Police Association’s first leadership academy, and a 2023 graduate of the Southern Police Institute’s Command Officer Development course.

Det. Merrick Forader

Forader – whose grandfather and uncles were police officers in Connecticut – joined the West Hartford Police Department in 2017 after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, where he had achieved the rank of captain.

Forader, who attended the University of Connecticut as a member of the ROTC program, earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in criminology and after graduating in 2012 was commissioned for active duty as a second lieutenant. He was a field artilleryman, and specialized as a fire support officer, leading and managing diverse teams. He graduated from the U.S. Army Ranger School and was deployed to Afghanistan from 2015-2016 before leaving the service to begin his law enforcement career.

Since joining the West Hartford Police Department, Forader has been assigned to the Patrol Division, has been a Field Training Officer, and he is in his fifth year with the Emergency Services Unit, currently a team leader. He is also a member of the department’s Honor Guard, Community Support Unit, and Greater Hartford Regional Auto Theft Task Force.

Terra noted that Forader has “contributed to many high-profile cases in West Hartford and surrounding agencies involving the apprehension of dangerous criminals involved in homicides, shootings, home invasions, robberies, car jackings, narcotics trafficking, burglaries, auto thefts, and the seizure of numerous illegal firearms and quantities of illegal narcotics.”

He has also attended training in various disciplines.

Forader has received multiple awards during his career, including two departmental citations, a merit award, a lifesaving award, unit citations, and a Hartford Police Department Recognition Award. He has also been selected as the American Legion’s Police Officer of the Year for 2024.

ACO Kimberly Gulino

Gulino, who was first hired as an assistant animal control officer by the West Hartford Police Department in 2019, has been named supervisor of the Animal Control Division.

Gulino embarked on a career working with animals after spending several years raising her children, starting in a pet grooming salon and then becoming a veterinary technician at a local office. “That interest grew into a passion and later on as a career, as Kim accepted a position with the Town of Farmington in 2016 as an assistant municipal animal control officer,” Terra said.

Since joining West Hartford’s Animal Control Division, she has embrace the community and forged relationships not only with her colleagues but also with the community and animal protection groups throughout the state.

In 2022, Gulino received the Excellence of Service Award from Kenway’s Cause Animal Rescue, “an award that captured Kim’s commitment to her career as a true testament to the work she has done and will continue to do for the Town of West Hartford,” said Terra.

Earlier on the day of the promotional ceremony, Gulino had rescued two baby wood ducks that had found their way into the basement of a West Hartford business. She was still waiting for them to be picked up from a rehabilitation agency, and brought them with her to the ceremony to ensure they were safe.

Sgt. Amanda Martin served as emcee. Pastor Eric Peoples gave the invocation.

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