OLD LYME–The resident state trooper in charge of the Old Lyme Police Department for the past five years will be leaving early next month to lead the Connecticut State Police peer support program.
Connecticut State Police Resident State Trooper Matt Weber on Friday said word came through the day before that he’ll be transferring Oct. 3 to the Middletown headquarters as the coordinator of the State Troopers Offering Peer Support (STOPS) program.
He said the state police will assign a temporary resident trooper to cover the town while the agency goes through the process of finding a permanent replacement.
Webe currently oversees five Old Lyme constables with full police powers. The resident trooper program provides leadership in more than 50 towns across the state without independent police departments.
Weber, who lives in town, described the move as bittersweet.
“Definitely, it’s a town I love, so hopefully I left it a little bit better than I found it,” he said.
First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker on Friday said Weber’s presence has led to a stronger summer ranger program, which places seasonal staff under the police department’s direction to patrol public beaches. She said the resident trooper has also helped curb fights and illegal activity at Sound View Beach.
Shoemaker credited Weber with focusing on hiring new officers rather than exclusively making lateral hires from other departments.
“His unique approach to build our staff by training officers at the Connecticut Police Academy has allowed us to hire individuals who have always wanted to be police officers and are now serving our town to the best of their ability,” she said.
Among them are Officer Ethan Kula, a former summer ranger in Old Lyme who was hired in 2022 at the age of 24. Most recently, Patrolman George Sirigos graduated the academy in January as a 31 year old.
Before Kula, Corporal Dominic Solari was the last Old Lyme officer to go through the academy in 2006.
Shoemaker said she has not been given a timetable for securing Weber’s permanent replacment. She also has not been told what the town’s role will be in the selection process, though she hopes to sit in on hiring interviews.
She said staff members at the police department and town hall will miss Weber greatly in his professional capacity. But she acknowledged the town resident isn’t going anywhere.
“We’re still going to see him in Big Y,” she said.
Weber will bring 17 years of experience as a state trooper when he takes over the peer support program from state police Sgt. Rodney Valdes.
Weber said he looks forward to the opportunity to help other troopers, “just for the mental well-being of them.”
He declined to further discuss his time in Old Lyme or his new role, citing the advice of the state police public information officer.
The state police STOPS program provides peer counseling for troopers and other first responders in personal or professional crises, according to state police. The specially-trained network of troopers also helps during non-crisis situations amid the daily stresses of working for the state police.
