Seven of the graduates took the alternate route by paying for the academy themselves, independent of a police agency.
WEST WINDSOR — Mercer County Police Academy graduated 51 new officers in a ceremony at Mercer County Community College and the Times of Trenton and NJ.com were there.
The graduation ceremony was the 14th and latest class of officers to complete their training, lasting 21 weeks, at the academy.
Officers from agencies in seven New Jersey counties graduated.
Acting Academy Director Brian Amantia handed out the diplomas except in the cases where graduates chose to receive their diplomas from a family member, many of whom were already in law enforcement themselves.
51 central N.J. officers graduate Mercer police academy (PHOTOS)
Awards for this class were:
Karl Kelly II, Ewing Police Dept., best all-around graduate.
Griffin Sydorko, Mercer County Sheriff's Office, academic award.
Jonathan Myzie, Princeton Police Dept., firearms award.
Kale Mabey, Jackson Police Department and Toni Mahotiere, Princeton Police Dept., shared the physical training award.
Nicholas Sidotti, North Brunswick Police Dept., emergency vehicle operations award.
Graduate Alex M. Kaufmann, of the Princeton Police Department, was chosen as class speaker.
The full list of graduates, and their agency:
Nicole Andrews, Linden Police Dept.
Dagoberto Arteaga, Hunterdon County Sheriff's Office
Ashley Bryan, North Brunswick Police Dept.
Piotr Bystrek, Lawrence Police Dept.
Antonio Centeno, Middlesex County Sheriff's Office
Liz Centeno, Burlington County Sheriff's Office
Derek Daulton, Alternate Route
Chris DeAngelo, Ewing Police Dept.
Joseph DiLissio, Mercer County Sheriff's Office
Thomas Fazio, Middlesex County Sheriff's Office
Christopher Fernandez, North Brunswick Police Dept.
Dominick Fiore, Alternate Route
Cornelius Flemming, Alternate Route
Corey Fornarotto, Ewing Police Dept.
Rene Gordon, North Brunswick Police Dept.
Christopher Grossmick, Mount Laurel Police Dept.
Michael Gulden, New Jersey State Park Police
Shareef Hardin, Mercer County Sheriff's Office
Shane Hickey, Lawrence Police Dept.
Brian Hollenbach, Hillsborough Police Dept.
Nicholas Jones, Alternate Route
Alex Kaufmann, Princeton Police Dept.
Karl Kelly, Ewing Police Department
Ashley Kophamel, Middlesex County Sheriff's Office
Richard Lamont, Lawrence Police Dept.
Andre Lee, Princeton Police Dept.
Laura Lemay, Mount Laurel Police Dept.
Kale Mabey, Jackson Police Dept.
Toni Mahotiere, Princeton Police Dept.
Michael Mancino, Hamilton Police Dept.
David Massi, Alternate Route
Justin Mura, Hamilton Police Dept.
Jonathan Myzie, Princeton Police Department
Jake O'Brien, Middlesex County Sheriff's Office
Christian Paone, Middlesex County Sheriff's Office
Kevin Perkins, Hamilton Police Dept.
Jesse Peterson, Montgomery Police Dept.
Brian Popovich, Mercer County Sheriff's Office
Tiffany Reed, College of New Jersey Police Department
Alfonso Robles, Alternate Route
Wilfredo Rosado, Mercer County Sheriff's Office
Amanda Rossi, Hunterdon County Sheriff's Office
Michael Sheridan, Mount Laurel Police Dept.
Nicholas Sidotti, North Brunswick Police Dept.
Cagney Smith, North Brunswick Police Dept.
Kyle Stybe, Jackson Police Dept.
Griffin Sydorko, Mercer County Sheriff's Office
Lauren Tredo, Rutgers University Police Dept.
Carly Valentino, Hillsborough Police Dept.
Philip T. Waid, Rutgers University Police Dept.
Joseph Zucchero, Alternate Route
Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @michaelmancuso. Find NJ.com on Facebook.