Mass. State Police Cadet Is Michael Rock’s Doppelganger

A Rock and Fox Show listener posted something interesting up on my Facebook wall last night. Stephen Mitchell wrote, "Did you enter the MA State police academy? #doppleganger."

He then attached a photo that stopped me in my tracks. The Mass State Police had posted a bunch of pictures from Day 1 of their 85th Recruit Training Troop. The 35-plus photos showed the cadets arriving for the police academy in their suits and ties before their heads were shaved and the conditioning runs throughout the snow-covered hills of New Braintree began.

The rural little town outside of Worcester was the site of yesterday's training, which will last 23 weeks. According to the Mass State Police Facebook page, "the recruits will receive instruction in police procedures; criminal and motor vehicle laws; defensive tactics; ethics; departmental policies, rules and regulations; firearms and other use of force equipment; emergency first aid; physical training; and emergency driving. The training will be conducted by MSP drill instructors, classroom instructors, and specialized subject matter experts."

This brings us to one particular photo that was shared on the Mass State Police Facebook and Instagram accounts. It features Recruit J. Cravedi. If you didn't know better, you might have thought I quit the Rock and Fox Show and decided to follow in the footsteps of my father, Trooper John Rock.

I showed the picture to my kids who sarcastically said, "Yeah, nice photoshop job, Dad."

The only thing was, this picture was not photoshopped in any way. It is stunning how much this guy looks like me.

You might remember last summer when Gazelle's doppelganger was wanted for his role in an attack at the Kings Inn in Dartmouth.