Norwich – Norwich Police Officer Jared M. Szuba has earned the Top Graduate Award for finishing at the top of his class at the Connecticut Police Academy.

Szuba, who graduated in December, was honored at an awards ceremony Wednesday sponsored by the Police Commissioners Association of Connecticut in conjunction with Sturm-Ruger Firearm Company, according to a statement from the police department. In addition to a plaque, Szuba was presented with a new Ruger Firearm engraved with his name and accomplishment.

Szuba, 22 at the time of his hire by the department in July, is a 2010 Lyman Memorial High School graduate who earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of New Haven. Szuba previously worked as a dispatcher for Colchester Emergency Communications and serves as a volunteer firefighter for the Colchester Hayward Fire Department.

“This is an exceptional accomplishment for a recruit police officer. It illustrates his intelligence, determination, and character. It also validates the rigorous hiring process that our candidates for hire must successfully complete before they are hired as a Norwich Police Officer,” Norwich Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro said in a statement.