NEWBURYPORT – Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Newburyport’s newest police officer, Wesley Silva-Saraiva was sworn in Monday at City Hall as family, fellow officers and Mayor Sean Reardon looked on.
“Wesley is our first Brazilian officer and also our first multilingual officer that I know of, so that’s an exciting thing as we expand our department. We’re really looking forward to it.” City Marshal Matt Simons said.
Around 10:30 a.m., Silva-Saraiva was joined by his parents and new colleagues as he was sworn in.
In his brief remarks, Reardon said the department was in “a little bit of a transition right now.”
“But I think you are coming in at the perfect time. You are our third in recent memory sworn in as a new officer. We have wonderful leadership here and wonderful veterans you’re going to learn from,” Reardon said.
After the ceremony Reardon he was referring to recent retirements coinciding with three new officers being sworn over a two-month span, with five total new officers joining the department this year.
The last officer to be sworn in was Shea Lucontoni at the start of October.
Simons said it is always a proud day to welcome in a new officer as he addressed Silva-Saraiva directly.
“The oath you took this morning is more than words, it’s a promise to serve with integrity, fairness, and respect for all members of our community. This is not just a profession, this is a calling. I thank you for answering this call,” Simons said.
He said the profession is not for everyone and takes a special type of person.
“It’s going to require courage and compassion and an unwavering commitment to public safety in our community. I know you’ve worked hard to prepare yourself for this day, and I’m confident that you will serve our department and our community with honor,” Simons said.
The 30-year-old newly sworn in officer explained that he had moved from Brazil in 2017 after being part of the country’s army, joining the New Hampshire National Guard in 2023 while preparing to become a police officer.
“I started studying for the Civil Service exam, got approval on that, went to the academy in Lynnfield last June, and just graduated last week,” Silva-Saraiva said.
He said he is excited to be the department’s first Brazilian and multilingual officer.
“It’s a big responsibility for me, to keep up with expectations. I know we have a lot of Brazilians who live here. Some don’t speak English, so I’m glad I can translate for them,” Silva-Saraiva said.
With only days of experience under his belt, he said he was loving the department so far.
“Everyone’s been super nice to me. I just started Saturday doing some admin paperwork. Everyone’s been super nice. I met some of the people that live here at the farmers market yesterday, it was great,” Silva-Saraiva said.
Asked why he chose Newburyport, he said he had offer letters from a number of communities but was drawn to the city.
“I was researching, and I always liked Newburyport. I used to come here a lot with friends. It’s a community that always attracted me,” Silva-Saraiva said.
He is currently starting field training, explaining that he will be riding with a veteran officer for the next eight to 10 weeks before being assigned to regular patrol.
“I’m very excited to start working, get to meet everyone, and hope that I can help you all,” Silva-Saraiva said.
Simons said that Silva-Saraiva was the last of their latest batch of graduates.
“We have four officers slated to start the academy in January, and once they graduate, that will bring us up to full staffing levels, where we haven’t been for a number of years,” Simons said.