BY DAVE CHOATE

John Levasseur is still in training, but he’s found a home with the town’s Police Department.

“The training has been awesome so far. The easiest part is dealing with and communicating with people, and I’m really enjoying that,” he said.

On July 31, Levasseur was sworn in as a full-time police officer with the Dunbarton Police Department.

Levasseur fills a position that was approved at the Dunbarton Town Meeting in March and will become the town’s third full-time police officer after he finishes his training.

Levasseur comes to the agency with four years of law-enforcement experience, having worked for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections prior to joining the Dunbarton Police.

He is a graduate of the New Hampshire Corrections Academy and is a certified field-training officer. He was also a member of the Special Emergency Response Team and was promoted to the rank of corporal with the Department of Corrections in April.

Police Chief Chris Connelly said Levasseur comes from a local background, having lived in Goffstown and graduated from Goffstown High School. He said the new officer has impressed him so far and is learning the ins and outs of small town policing.

“So far, he’s adjusting very well. He comes with some good experience from the Corrections Department that’s transferrable to what he’s learning now,” Connelly said.

He said Levasseur is also active in the community, providing time as a boxing instructor at the Police Athletic League in Manchester, where he currently resides. Connelly said the new officer manages to find the time despite a busy schedule that will keep him in training for more than a month.

Levasseur said that he has assisted on traffic stops, a suicide call and a fire call. He also said that being an officer in Dunbarton should be a more varied experience than working at a larger department.

“Here you do more investigative work, so I’m just learning the geography of the town. You really do the full circle because the department is so small. I definitely get to see all the aspects of the police work, each stage of it,” Levasseur said.

He has several weeks remaining between the police academy in Concord and training in Dunbarton, but he said he’s eager to get to his job.

“I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can and becoming a very well-rounded officer,” Levasseur said.