Two members of the West Hartford Police Department were promoted Thursday night in a ceremony at Town Hall.
Chief Riddick with Lt. Peter Juda, his wife Kristin, and daughters Yvette and Skyler. Courtesy photo
By Ronni Newton
West Hartford Police Chief Vernon L. Riddick hosted a promotion ceremony Thursday night, honoring two members of the department.
Mayor Cantor congratulating Det. Sean Walmsley after she administered the oath of office. Courtesy photo
Sgt. Peter Juda has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and Off. Sean Walmsley has been promoted to detective. Both were given the oath of office by Mayor Shari Cantor.
“Lt. Peter Juda and Det. Sean Walmsley are committed, intelligent and hardworking officers who earned their promotion,” Riddick said. “Moreover, they are quality and honorable human beings. We are blessed to have them be part of our West Hartford community.”
Juda has been a member of the West Hartford Police Department since July 2002.
He spent many years in the Patrol Division, often working second or third shift, and also worked in Traffic, in the Detective Division, and became a Field Training Officer.
Juda joined the department’s Underwater Recovery Team (URT) in 2006, and as part of that group helped retrieve a car that had been driven into Woodridge Lake, and a stolen laptop that had been thrown into the lake.
He has been a member of the Hartford Police Bomb Squad since 2009, and graduated from the FBI Hazardous Devices School in Huntsville, AL. He is a member of the Joint Terrorism Task force and holds a top secret security clearance.
Juda was promoted to detective in 2011 and sergeant in 2014. He facilitated the integration of West Hartford’s URT with the Capital Region Emergency Services (CREST) Dive Team – a move that has benefited the entire region.
Det. Walmsley joined the West Hartford Police Department in 2000, and since then has worked all three shifts in the Patrol Division, as a Field Training Officer, a Bicycle Unit Officer, and a Community Interaction Team Officer. He is currently a taskforce officer with the Capitol Region Statewide Narcotics Taskforce.
Walmsley has received 11 departmental commendations, as well as merit awards for a variety of actions including apprehending car burglary suspects and shooting suspects – and an attempted murder suspect – and seizing large quantities of narcotics. He has assisted in the recovery of handguns, stolen cars, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen cash and property, and apprehended a home invasion suspect.
In 2006, Walmsley was named West Hartford Police Officer of the Year.
He spends his spare time volunteering as a youth baseball and softball coach.
Pastor Dana Hallenbeck, a retired West Hartford Police officer, gave the invocation, and Town Manager Matt Hart also spoke at the ceremony.
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