CPD Recognizes Officer Promotions, New Hires

At the Feb. 11 meeting of the Coventry Town Council, Police Chief Bryan Volpe led a promotion ceremony for four of Coventry Police Department's officers, as well as the introduction of two new additions:

Captain John S. MacDonald

Capt. MacDonald graduated from from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. 

 He is currently a member of the RI Army National Guard, serving for the past 21 years as well as a Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot, serving two oversees tours. His most notable achievement came in 2005, when he commanded Alpha Company 1st of the 126th Aviation during combat operations in Balad, Iraq. This past year, he served in Kuwait as the Operations Officer for the 1st Battalion 126th Aviation, where he was responsible for daily missions involving 30 UH-60 Blackhawks, 8 AH-64 Apaches, 4 fixed wing aircraft and 350 personnel. He currently holds the rank of Major and the Bronze Star military decoration.

Capt. MacDonald graduated from the RI Municipal Police Academy on Dec. 12, 1994. He was promoted to Sergeant on Feb. 23, 2003, to Lieutenant on Feb. 17, 2008, and to Captain in February of 2012 and commanded the CPD patrol division. Due to his commitment to the military he left the department for one year and is now back to serve as the agency’s Chief of Detectives.

He has received numerous letters of commendation during his tenure at the Police Department and also serves as a member of the Town’s EMA staff.

Captain Frederick J. Heise

Capt. Heise graduated from North Kingstown High School and Roger Williams University with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice.

Capt. Heise Graduated from the RI Municipal Police Academy in 1996 and had Chief Volpe as his Field Training Officer. He served as an FTO himself before being promoted to the rank of Sergeant in March of 2005, followed by Lieutenant shortly after where he began working as a member of Coventry's Emergency Management Staff.

Capt. Heise will assume the position of Patrol Commander in charge of the entire CPD patrol division.

Lieutenant Benjamin J. Sedam

Lt. Sedam graduated from the First Baptist High School in Warwick in 1999, then from Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, CT in 2001 with an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. In June of 2002, he graduated from the RI Municipal Police Academy, obtained his Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from Roger Williams University and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree there as well.

Lt. Sedam served at the Patrol level from 2002-2007, where was also a Field Training Officer, and has been member of CPD’s Peer Support Team since 2005. He was a member of the West Warwick/Coventry Regional SWAT Team from 2006-2009 and began working in the Detective Division in 2007, specializing in Narcotics from 2008-2009. 

He was promoted to Sergeant in September of 2009 and continued serving as day shift detective sergeant. He has specialized training in Cyber Crimes, Financial Crimes, Homicide, Arson, Sex Crimes, Serial Crimes, Narcotics and Interrogations.

Lt. Sedam was promoted to Lieutenant on Feb. 3, 2013. He will serve as Shift Commander in the CPD patrol division during the 4 p.m. - midnight shift.

Sergeant Alexander B. Demolles

Sgt. Alexander B. Demolles is a 2002 graduate of North Kingstown High School. He graduated from the Community College of RI in 2004, went on to graduate with his Bachelors Degree in 2006 from the University of Rhode Island and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree in Administration of Justice at Salve Regina University. Sgt. DeMolles Graduated from the RI Municipal Police Academy on June 29, 2007 as Valedictorian.

Sgt. Demolles is an Accident Reconstructionist, a Member of the West Warwick/Coventry Regional SWAT Team also serves as a Field Training Officer. He was promoted to Sergeant on Feb. 3, 2013 and will be assigned to the midnight shift at CPD.

New Hires

Officer Victoria H. Thompson

Off. Thompson graduated from Coventry High School in June of 2006 and has attended the Community College of RI.

She enrolled in the Air National Guard in 2006 and served with the 143rd Security Forces Squadron at the Quonset Air National Guard Base. In 2007, she was deployed to Saudi Arabia and is currently a Senior Airman with the rank of E-4 and is in the process of attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. 

Since Off. Thompson has been employed by Coastline Ambulance Company and Alert Ambulance Company. She has obtained the highest EMT certification as a Paramedic.

She graduated from the RI Municipal Police Academy on Dec. 19, 2012.

Officer Corey M. Benton  

Off. Benton graduated from South Kingstown High School in June of 2008 and from there went on to study Physical Education and Personal Training at the University of Rhode Island, graduating in 2012.

He previously worked at the Nordic Lodge as a lobster cook and also provided security there as well as several other local establishments.

Off. Benton graduated from the RI Municipal Police Academy with Off. Thompson on Dec. 19, 2012.

"While I am tremendously proud of all of these officers, I am especially happy to welcome Off. Benton to our agency," said Chief Volpe. "There were many difficult hurdles for him to get past during our hiring process. His exemplary dedication and perseverance during the process made a strong impression upon me and my staff to a point where it was clear that we wanted a man of his character as a member of the Coventry Police Department. Great work Corey."

Both new officers will be assigned to CPD's midnight shift.

"We at the Coventry Police Department remain committed to providing our community with the highest level of law enforcement service and professionalism available. The promotion of these officers will reinforce our commitment to excellence and ensure that our standards remain high," said Chief Volpe.

"Congratulations to those officers promoted this evening. You’ve all excelled during the testing process and you’ve earned these positions. I look forward to working closely with you to solve the issues our department and community will be facing in the future," he continued.

"Our new officers recently embarked on a 12-week field training program before being sent off on their own. During this period the officers will learn the inner workings of our agency which will allow them to “fine tune” their skills. To our new officers - congratulations on becoming members of one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the state. May you have a long and healthy career with the Coventry Police Department."