Norwich – Norwich police will receive a $500,000 federal Community Oriented Policing Services grant to be used to hire four new officers who must be military veterans, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney announced today.

The grant funding, through the U.S. Department of Justice’s COPS Hiring Program, which this year requires that all new officers hired under the grant must be military veterans who have served at least 180 days of active military service, any part of which occurred on or after Sept. 11, 2001.

This year’s grants provide 75 percent funding for approved entry-level salaries and benefits for three years for newly-hired, full-time sworn officer positions, including filling existing unfunded vacancies, or for rehired officers who have been laid off as a result of local budget cuts.

Courtney said he has stressed the hiring of military veterans during recent job fairs he hosted, and he has advocated for federal legislation to promote hiring military veterans.

“By allowing the city to hire veterans, it further fulfills our obligation to the men and women who served in our military,” Courtney said. “This targeted assistance will make the streets of Norwich safer and provide great assistance to Chief (Louis) Fusaro and his department, which participated in my recent career fair in Norwich.”

COPS grants go directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new officers and/or rehire career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.

“Four additional police officer positions will be very beneficial to the city of Norwich and the surrounding community as a whole,” Norwich Deputy Chief Warren Mocek said. “The ability to assist in the hiring of returning veterans and to provide gainful employment – something that is beneficial to them and to our department – makes us all proud.”