Fifty-eight new troopers have joined Virginia State Police following a graduation ceremony held Friday at the State Police Training Academy in Richmond.

The class includes two new troopers who are being assigned here: Eric Grant Vitatoe, a native of Haysi, who has been assigned to Gloucester; and Logan James Houston, originally from Quinton, who will work primarily in Mathews County.

The new troopers underwent more than 1,300 hours of classroom and field instruction during 27 weeks of training, which began July 6, 2021.

Topics of study include de-escalation techniques, strategies to assist people in mental health crisis, ethics and leadership, fair and impartial policing, constitutional law, emergency medical trauma care, and public and community relations, a release said.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoke at the graduation ceremony. Col. Gary T. Settle is Virginia State Police Superintendent.For their final phase of training, each newly graduated trooper will spend an additional ...