Officer joins Middlebury Police Department

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Left to right, Middlebury Police Chief Patrick Deely, Sara M. Carrillo, and Police Commissioner Paul Bowler are shown at the Middlebury Police Station as Bowler swears in Carrillo as a Middlebury police officer. The police force has been without a female officer since 2019. (Marjorie Needham photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Sara M. Carrillo raised her right hand and swore to bear true faith and allegiance to the Town of Middlebury, to serve it honestly and faithfully, support the U.S. and state constitutions and to perform all duties of a Middlebury police officer as Police Commissioner Paul Bowler swore her in Wednesday, November 30, in the presence of Middlebury Police Chief Patrick Deely.

Carrillo, 45, retired from the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) police force after 21 years of service and has been working as a full-time officer under Wolcott Police Chief Edward Stephens. She will continue with the Wolcott police department, but in the capacity of an administrative assistant and accreditation specialist.

She said she will work for Middlebury evenings and weekends. Asked for her thoughts on being in the minority as the only female officer on the force, Carrillo said, “It’s so normal I don’t think about it. I don’t think of myself as a minority. I think of myself as an equal and part of a team.”

She said she was looking forward to working as an officer in Middlebury because it’s a very nice community. She also said she thought her experience with DMHAS would be helpful in her new position.

Deely said, “I’ve been trying for a couple of years to secure a female officer since the retirement of our officer.” He was referring to Officer Kathryn Blick’s 2019 retirement.

He said Chief Stephens called to let him know Carrillo would be interested in working here. “She is a very qualified officer, and we are very lucky to have her,” Deely said.