City police force welcomes new officer
Woonsocket native sworn in, has dream realized
“I grew up in Woonsocket and I always wanted to be a Woonsocket cop.” —Robert Fry, newest member of the Woonsocket Police Dept.
WOONSOCKET — Patrolman Robert Fry’s dream growing up was not only to be a police officer, but a police officer in his hometown of Woonsocket where he could help make a difference in the community that helped shape the person he is today.
That dream came true Friday when Fry, 28, became the newest member of the Woonsocket police force.
With Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III, Public Safety Director Eugene Jalette and Captains Todd Boisvert and Adam Remick standing nearby, Fry was officially sworn in by Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt as his family looked on.
Fry was a patrolman for the North Smithfield Police Department for more than a year, but decided he wanted to make a career change and become a cop in Woonsocket. The Woonsocket Department was impressed with his background and hired Fry as its newest patrolman.
“I grew up in Woonsocket and I always wanted to be a Woonsocket cop,” Fry says. “It’s tough to get on any department because its very
competitive, so I am thankful for the opportunity to serve North Smithfield. But Woonsocket is where I have always wanted to be.”
Attending Friday’s swearing-in ceremony was Fry’s wife, Amy, and his three children, Jaden, 10, Naithyn, 5, and Averi, 3. His father, Ronnie, and his brother and sister, Michael and Xiomara, were also there.
Fry grew up on Rockridge Drive in Woon- socket. When he was 13, his family moved to Providence and then Central Falls where he attended Central Falls High School.
Fry spent 10 years in the Army, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan from 2012-2013.
He was a corrections officer at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls from 2015 to 2017 and graduated from the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy in 2017 before being hired as a patrolman in North Smithfield on May 26, 2017.