Dartmouth Police hire four new recruits

The Dartmouth Police will soon be joined by four new members.

The Select Board approved hiring the candidates at its July 11 meeting. The new recruits will fill three current vacancies and one upcoming vacancy, and will start work after completing their training at the police academy in the fall.

Chief Brian Levesque introduced the four candidates, who were selected from nine finalists:

John Bates is a Dartmouth resident and a sergeant in the National Guard.

Drew Letton is a Dartmouth resident and Dartmouth High grad. In high school, he was part of a national championship drumline and currently works as a military police officer in the National Guard.

Joel Sodeinde graduated from Dartmouth High and earned a degree in sociology at Springfield College. He then worked for the Department of Youth Services.

Elias Alami, another Dartmouth High grad, is working toward a bachelor's degree at UMass Dartmouth and currently works for the GeekSquad.

The board wished the recruits well, with member and former Potter School Principal Heidi Brooks giving a shout-out to the former Potter students among them.

“You’re going to make your family proud, you’re going to make the town of Dartmouth proud, and you’re going to make your fellow officers proud also,” said Vice Chair Stanley Mickelson.