Officer Anna Ingraham leaving Norwich PD after 8 years of service to the community
Sad to see her leave but wishing her the best just the same
This is a short story to simply say thank you to Norwich police officer Anna Ingraham for her eight years of service to the town of Norwich and to invite the residents of Norwich to say goodbye to Anna at a farewell party to be held at the Norwich Police Department on January 1, 2024 from 2:00- 4:00 pm. I have included in this story several photos of officer Ingraham in the performance of her duties from previous stories that I have done on my newsletter About Norwich. I reached out to Anna and asked her to tell us a little something about her time here and what she liked the most about police work in Norwich and here is what she had to say:
Demo,
In the eight years that I have been a Norwich police officer I responded to all sorts of calls, but my favorite calls were the community policing type calls, where my actions were geared toward making the community a better place. I have enjoyed serving the residents of Norwich and I am truly sad to have to leave.
I would like to thank all those who support the Norwich Police Department and the individuals who work there. I would not have stayed as long as I did if that support had not been there. I would also like to give special thanks to Judith Powell for all her professional guidance and support during my time here, but especially when it was just the two of us running the department. I truly could not have done it without her.
This award was given to officer Anna Ingraham during a reception at the Norwich PD on November 29, 2022.
Officer Ingraham covered the officer in charge position for several months in addition to her normal duties as a Norwich police officer while a new police chief was being recruited. At the time there were only two employees at the Norwich Police department, Anna and Judy Powell, the administrative/dispatcher. The authorized compliment was for four police officers including the chief and an administrative/ dispatcher. Anna had the opportunity to work with five police chiefs in the eight years that she served Norwich.
Here is the announcement poster for Anna’s farewell party
Norwich Lion’s Club president Fran De Gasta makes a presentation to Officer Anna Ingraham on behalf of the Norwich Women’s club and the Norwich Lions club as Chief Wade Cochran and Judy Powell look on approvingly.
Annette Brown, President of the Norwich Women’s Club presents Anna and Judy with a nice box of chocolates.
Officer Ingraham taking a Child abuse course on-line at the PD
Officer Ingraham attended along with then Chief Frank an online training sponsored by Prevent Child Abuse Vermont; focused on identifying and recognizing child sexual abuse and the grooming process, recognizing and responding to abusive behaviors and signs of abuse, and healthy messaging for children as a component of prevention efforts.
At a Coffee with a Cop event during Covid , Chief Jennifer M Frank and Officer Anna Ingraham explained the challenges of policing during the COVID pandemic and the added stress that can be present at a moments notice.
This photo was from a Pen-Pal program that the Norwich Police officers participated in along with Chief Frank. They wrote and answered letters from Norwich school children.
Officer Anna Ingraham provided traffic safety duties for several organizations and their events in town to include, Memorial day parades, Veterans day ceremonies, Halloween trick or treat in Norwich, Norwich Christmas Pageants, Norwich Fair, Labor day races, Norwich Women’s Club events, as well as the Norwich Historical Society, etc., all of this afforded her the opportunity to interact with the community in a positive manner. This is a form of community policing and Anna did her job well. She made visits to the Marion Cross school along with the chief to teach the students and staff on how to stay safe, and through bike-to-school day events, where she would assist with traffic safety and sometimes was the lead vehicle driver escorting them to school.
Forming up and getting ready to roll or should I say ride to school
Coming into the home stretch, and guided safely all the way through
Norwich PD escorting them to school safely
This photo was taken by Kata Sasvari during another recent bike to school day event.
Anna also participated in touch a truck events where the students got a chance to interact with police officers and firefighters and learned about the various equipment and vehicles that the police and fire departments use like these.
She has been in and out of this cruiser a few times in her eight years of service, I am sure.
Always making sure to keep them shiny and ready to roll for whatever comes along
I wish her the best in the future and know that she will be missed here in Norwich by many.
Demo Sofronas for About Norwich
