Shawn Cruzado is interviewed by the Wilbraham Select Board.
Photo credit: Wilbraham Public Access
WILBRAHAM — On Jan. 27, the Wilbraham Select Board interviewed and appointed Shawn Cruzado to the Wilbraham Police Department.
The appointment is contingent on completion of a background check, basic training, medical screening, psychological assessment and physical abilities test requirement.
Cruzado said he applied to further his law enforcement career. He is a seven year veteran in the Department of Corrections and said the job has taught him a lot, such as how to work with the public and how to handle “society’s not so good people.”
Before that, Cruzado worked as an armed officer for Paragon Systems in Hartford, where he said he would help translate for immigrants due to his bilingualism in Spanish. He also has experience with Brink’s, transporting money in between banks.
“I take everything, I take all the experience that I’ve ever gotten and I make the best of it,” Cruzado said. “This is why I’m here, I want to serve the public. It’s been a dream of mine to serve the public as a police officer.”
Select Board member Marc Ducey began the interview and asked Cruzado if there was anything specific about Wilbraham that attracted him to policing. Cruzado said that as a Springfield native, he had done research on the local departments and Wilbraham stood out.
“It stood out for a lot of good feedback from the public,” Cruzado said. “The way they engage with the public, professionalism, integrity and it seems that this department has the right supervisors and leadership that I am looking for, that strong foundation that will set me up for success in law enforcement.”
Ducey followed up by asking about a time Cruzado demonstrated skillsets or abilities of teamwork and leadership, and Cruzado said he has a tight-knit community at his current job.
“There’s plenty of situations where we’ve had to plan and follow through with extracting someone from a cell, which we never want to do but it’s part of the job,” Cruzado said. “Whether I’m the lead or orchestrating it, those are things that we’ve done in the past that have brought me to be exposed to leadership positions.”
Select Board member Susan Bunnell asked how Cruzado would ensure fair and impartial treatment of all individuals, regardless of their backgrounds. He said he works in a department with all different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and that he has been taught to treat others the way he would want to be treated, with respect.
Bunnell followed up by asking Cruzado his long term goals for a career in law enforcement, and he said he sees himself anywhere from patrol, a school resource officer or supervisor at some point.
Select Board Chair Michael Squindo asked to describe a situation where he had to make a quick decision without having all of the necessary information and how he handled it.
“Going back to my job again, everyday, it’s something different,” Cruzado said. “In the instance, we use a lot of use of force, again we’re dealing with criminals and they’re there for a reason. I’ve been put in situations where I’ve had to restrain an individual and place him under cuffs because he tried to assault me or tried to assault a coworker or even a supervisor. These are things that we have to just naturally react to based on training that we continuously do.”
Squindo asked Cruzado how he would establish trust within the community, and Cruzado said by being out there, being visible and being approachable. He said he likes to think he is a liked individual and easy going, so he would like to engage with the public in a positive manner.
Cruzado also said that from the first interview, he had felt like he was in the right place since day one. Police Chief Edward Lennon said that from the candidates training, it was determined Cruzado would be a good fit for the department and recommended the appointment.
