NORWICH – The Norwich community will see new faces as five officers were sworn in by Norwich Police Chief Rodney Marsh at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Two of the five officers are lateral transfers, in that they did not need additional training to begin work, and therefore have started at the Norwich station.

Matthew Roberts began Oct. 13 and Mark Martin began Oct. 19.

The other three officers, Andrew Delmar, Brian Whiteman, and James Testani are all required to attend the academy prior to patrolling the streets.

According to both Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike and Chief Marsh, the five hires were to fill current vacancies within the department and one anticipated retirement at the end of this year.

As lateral transfers, Roberts and Martin are not new to law enforcement, and have previously worked in other offices or departments.

Whiteman and Testani were said to both be from Norwich, and Delmar said to be from South New Berlin.

The three will attend the Onondaga Academy, where the mayor said the hires will stay onsite Monday through Thursday during the six month training period.

When asked about a possible ‘meet and greet’ so the community can get to know the new patrolmen, the mayor said, “This is something that we will review once they all return from the academy.”