Retired officer passes the torch to son at Lowell police graduation By Lisa Redmond, lredmond@lowellsun.com Article Launched: 11/16/2007 11:37:01 AM EST
LOWELL -- It has been four years since retired Lowell Police Officer Paul Paradise Jr. pinned his badge on a police uniform. But it was with pride and honor that he took his badge from the locked desk drawer where he kept it and pinned it on his oldest son's uniform shirt. Badge number 129, which the elder Paradise wore proudly for his 30 years on the Lowell Police Department, will now be worn by his son, Paul Paradise II, 25, who graduated from the Lowell Police Academy yesterday. "Let's hope he has as much luck with that badge as I did," the elder Paradise said after the ceremony at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Paradise was one of 48 graduates who endured the rigorous 24-week training course (960 hours of training in 56 different subjects) to be among the 12th class of graduates from the academy. Among the graduates, six officers, including Paradise, will work for the Lowell police. Another academy graduate will work for the Dracut police and another for Burlington, as well other officers who have been hired by Arlington, Cambridge, Framingham, Lawrence, North Andover, Northampton, Oak Bluffs, Peabody, Pittsfield and Sudbury departments. Yesterday's graduates will undergo a weeklong orientation, and then patrol with a veteran officer for 14 weeks, Lowell Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee said. At yesterday's ceremony, Lavallee said that 12 years ago he was one of the founders of the Lowell Police Academy and one of the original instructors. He told the graduates to look around at the love, respect and pride on the faces of their family members. "This can continue throughout your careers as long as you maintain ethical standards, professionalism and teamwork,'' he said. The commencement speaker, State Police Col. Mark Delaney, described being a police officer is an "honorable profession." Carole Cowan, president of Middlesex Community College, which partners with the academy, noted that of the 48 graduates in this class, 17 are military veterans, another was a teacher, a lawyer, a nurse and a mortician. During the 24 weeks of training, five students found time to get married and several others became fathers. Her advice to the graduates, "Stay safe in your new careers.'' Jackie Paradise, who works at UMass Lowell, said she isn't concerned about her oldest son's safety as a police officer. "Considering what he's been through, I have faith in God he'll be all right as a police officer,'' she said. For five years, Paul Paradise II was overseas as a counter intelligence agent in the Army's special services, focusing on terrorism and espionage. He survived being shot, stabbed, exploded from a car and run over during the time he spent in Afghanistan, South Korea and other war zones he isn't allowed to speak about. When asked his reaction to wearing his father's badge, Paradise smiled and said, "Very proud.'' Staff reporter Robert Mills contributed to this story.
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