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  06/20/2005 - East Windsor - Sergeant Ronald Drolett admitted during a police investigation in March to authoring the letter in which he addresses numerous grievances about the department.

 Drolett was suspended after the Police Commission this month determined that he had violated the town's police manual. The violations include: failure to use the chain of command properly, failure to report confidential matters, and conduct unbecoming an officer.

 Drolett was also found guilty of Department Operational Directive Chapter 26 on disciplinary procedures and another section on harassment with regards to libel.

In the letter Drolett accused the Police Department of the following:

* That many shifts are without supervisors or experienced officers because some people are not required to work their scheduled shifts. He said that officers "are even handed the opportunity to get off them."

* Some officers are sent all over the country for training while others only get the minimum. He also said that training has been put off.

* So much money was spent on the chief's and detective's cars that there was not enough left over for other police officers' cars.

* Manpower was diverted from the entire department to cover for one officer that made as few as one arrest per year.

* There is a "golden circle where some people can get away with anything and have all the assignments handed to them and are praised for the simplest things and others are used as scapegoats and only there to be used." He said these "double standards" hurt morale.

 When asked about the letter in March, Police Chief Edward J. DeMarco Jr. said he could not comment on the letter because the case was under investigation. DeMarco said Friday he still could not comment about specifics of the case because he was under the impression it was being appealed.

First Selectwoman Linda Roberts confirmed that a grievance against the Police Commission's decision had been filed on behalf of Drolett.
 According to police investigation documents obtained by the Journal Inquirer Friday, Drolett's letter was circulated to four members of the Police Commission and Roberts.

 Members of the Police Commission either could not be reached or declined to comment.

Roberts said she has not kept up with the case and does not keep "anonymous complaints of a vague nature" and usually throws them away when they reach her office. Roberts, however, said she would have responded had a complaint been specific.

 Drolett also could not be reached for comment.

 According to a letter sent this month by DeMarco to Drolett, the officer will begin his suspension on Monday, June 20.

In the letter, DeMarco informed Drolett that, "You must turn in your firearm, all badges, and photo identifications to the Chief of Police directly during your suspension days."

DeMarco said today that Drolett has served the town for more than 20 years.

According to a written transcript of the Police Commission meeting, Drolett told commissioners that he wrote the anonymous letter as a taxpayer and not as a police officer on duty.

However, according to the transcript Police Commissioner Linda Sinsigallo said, "Yes, you live in town, yes, you are a taxpayer, but above all you are a police officer, and you are that officer 24 hours a day.

 "I believe you should set a standard of conduct and professionalism that (you) need to respect your superiors and to bring to their attention things that are bothering you. I didn't appreciate receiving an anonymous letter coming from a Police Department member with these kinds of implications against other people and they spent a lot of time looking into it to rectify the situation."

Drolett said in the transcript that he did not come to the Police Commission for help because he did not want to face "any additional retaliation." Drolett said when he informed the Police Commission in the past about computer issues, he was penalized by former Police Chief Thomas Laufer Sr., who put him on "midnights with Tuesdays and Wednesdays off for six months."

Drolett told the commission, "Right now, I don't feel that I have a great future to look forward to - and I just had a lot of things that bothered me, I wanted to express them and get on with my life."

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   06/13/2005 -BRIDGEPORT — Two police officers have been suspended and a sergeant cleared following a six-month inquiry by the Board of Police Commissioners into allegations they used excessive force while arresting a teenager in 2002.

The commission found Officers Angel Ojeda and Mark Belinkie violated departmental rules of conduct when they beat the suspect with their hands and flashlights at the same time a police dog was biting him, according to a report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the City Attorney's office.

Ojeda, a 14-year veteran, was suspended without pay for six months and transferred from the K-9 unit. Belinkie, a five-year veteran, was suspended for four months without pay.

A third officer, Sgt. Joseph Szor, was cleared of wrong-doing, the report states.

Sgt. Donald Jacques, president of the Bridgeport Police Union Local 1159, said the union is appealing the punishments before the American Arbitration Association. He hopes to have a hearing in the summer. "I consider [the punishments] to be excessive," he said.

Acting Chief Anthony Armeno said through a police spokesman that he accepted the panel's ruling.

The Board of Police Commissioners, whose members are civilians, made its decision May 17 after six months of hearings.

None of the officers was arrested in connection with the incident.

Associate City Attorney Melanie Howlett said the hearings didn't start until last December because new members were elected to the police board, and the Police Department's Office of Internal Affairs was re-organized.

According to the board's report, on Sept. 25, 2002, Victor Lopez, 16, was accused of driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle on Fairfield Avenue, and abandoning it on Norman Street.

He led police on a short foot chase, eventually hiding under a van parked in a garage on Iranistan Avenue, police said. Ojeda and police dog Chico located him and Ojeda threatened to release the dog unless Lopez surrendered. After two more threats, he released the dog, but by then Lopez was crawling out from under the van on his stomach. Still, the dog started biting Lopez.

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 05/19/05 - Connecticut - Jason Alterio, the city police officer accused of assaulting several women in his four years on the force, has been fired.

But Alterio will appeal to the state Labor Board, with representation by Bridgeport Police Union Local 1159, said Sgt. Donald Jacques, the union president.

Alterio's lawyer, Elliot Spector, of West Hartford, could not be reached for comment.

"He's through as of today," Lt. James Viadero, police spokesman, said Tuesday.

"The hearing officer's recommendation was termination."

Though former Police Chief Wilbur L. Chapman and current acting Chief Anthony Armeno both wanted Alterio terminated, the hearing officer, James Stewart, was the only one with the power to fire him. Stewart issued his findings earlier this week.

The department's Internal Affairs Division had found Alterio guilty of violating department regulations in three separate cases. Alterio was sworn into service in February 2001.

In one incident, Alterio is alleged to have used excessive force when responding to a call at a city woman's home on Aug. 10, 2002. He was not charged in that case. He was disciplined by the department but returned to duty.

The woman, Dolores Fonseca, accused him in a federal lawsuit of beating her. The suit also names the Police Department as a defendant.

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  03/22/ 2005 -  LISBON, Conn. - A state trooper was suspended for 15 days without pay after he was recorded on a 911 tape saying ''too bad'' to a caller seeking help for a man injured in a motorcycle accident.

State police said the dismissive answer by Trooper Robert Peasley did not affect the response time to the accident involving Justin Sawyer, 21, who died of a severe head injury a week after the crash last August. Peasley was suspended on Monday.

Russell Shepard, a friend of Sawyer's, called 911, which was routed to the state police barracks in Montville. When he reported the accident, Peasley said, ''Yeah ... too bad,'' and hung up.   

Shepard said he was shocked, believing he reached a wrong number.

Another friend made a second call. ''Yeah,'' the officer responded. ''Help will get there. Shouldn't be playing games.''

A third emergency call was answered by a different dispatcher, who asked about Sawyer's condition and advised those nearby to not touch him.

''I am absolutely outraged every time I hear that 'too bad' and then click,'' said Sawyer's father, Jim Sawyer. ''I only know that I would have felt a whole lot more comfortable if I had heard people responding on the end of that 911 call with some heart and caring.''

State police said the comments by Peasley, an 18-year-veteran, were unprofessional, and the agency apologized if ''our actions added to the family's pain.''

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  10/15 2004 -  NORWALK -- An internal police probe will attempt to determine whether a department employee provided The Advocate with classified documents from a criminal investigation into a former sergeant.

Police Chief Harry Rilling yesterday said he is not assuming a department source sent the documents, which are part of a probe into an after-hours encounter that occurred between James Saraceni and a female friend early Oct. 16, 2003, at the Community Policing Division substation.

"If it was a member of this department (who sent the documents), it was a serious breach of department rules and regulations and a serious breach of ethical standards," said Rilling, who ordered the internal probe Wednesday.

 Although Saraceni was never charged with a crime, an attorney for the woman filed a notice of intent to sue the city, alleging she was sexually assaulted. Rilling last month demoted Saraceni from sergeant to patrolman after an internal investigation of the incident, ruling he engaged in conduct unbecoming of an officer.

 An unidentified source recently mailed The Advocate a copy of the woman's statement to police, dated Oct. 17, 2003, and a transcript a detective created of a conversation with Saraceni the woman recorded hours after waking up Oct. 16 and apparently realizing she had blacked out much of the incident.

 The woman's statement -- the subject of a story that ran in yesterday's Advocate -- alleges Saraceni drank vodka with her at the community policing substation at the South Norwalk train station, "fooled around" with her and allowed her to drive away drunk. Those allegations are corroborated by the phone-call transcript.

 Saraceni's attorney, William Pelletreau of Norwalk, said Wednesday the criminal allegations against his client were "found to be of no substance." He declined to comment on the transcript but cited a state law barring someone from recording a phone call without the other party's consent in most cases.

 The police department has never officially released the details of the encounter, and an Advocate complaint is pending at the state Freedom of Information Commission over the city's refusal to turn over the findings of the internal probe.

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    10/7/2004 - Federal judge rules state police media policy is unconstitutional The state police agency's administrative and operations manual violates troopers' constitutional right to free speech Oct. 7, 2004 -- Preventing state police employees from speaking on matters of public concern is unconstitutional, a Connecticut federal judge ruled Friday.

 The state police media policy, including the agency's requirement that requests for media interviews be referred to or approved by a public information officer, "operates as a prior restraint on protected speech," U.S. District Judge Dominic J. Squatrito ruled in a 76-page decision, the Associated Press reported.

 Trooper Mark Lauretano filed a lawsuit against the state, Public Safety Commissioner Arthur Spada and others after his superior officers ordered him not to talk to the press while state administrators were giving interviews critical of Lauretano to the news media.

 Lauretano had been accused of mishandling a sexual-assault case in 1997 at Hotchkiss School in Salisbury, which resulted in a state police internal investigation and disciplinary action against him. He was suspended for two months without pay, removed as Salisbury resident trooper and transferred.

Karen Lee Torre, Lauretano's attorney, said she is extremely pleased with the decision.

"The press should be equally pleased about the decision," she said in an interview. "A lot of times reporters bemoan the fact that they can't extract information out of these agencies."

 Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office is reviewing the decision to determine if an appeal is "appropriate," he said in a press release. "My office will consult with the new commissioner of public safety to establish whether and how the ruling may require changes to his department's media policy and other possible steps," the release said.

An official at the state police headquarters' public information office said Wednesday that no one could discuss the decision until Monday.

A notice of intent to appeal has been posted on a state government website, but the Second Circuit has been "appropriately hostile" to appeals on similar decisions, Torre said.

"I think an appeal would be a complete waste of time," she said. "The 2nd Circuit has a very good record on First Amendment issues and is unlikely to view favorably on an appeal by the state."

The media policy had been around for approximately 20 years before Lauretano filed his lawsuit.

"It takes a great deal of courage for one person [to come forward]--the fear of reprisal is great," she said. "Any lawyer who represents whistle-blowers know the people who bring these cases have strong moral cores, a strong sense of ethical duty."

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  10/20/04 - Connecticut - A Manchester police officer is on desk duty this morning after he was arrested by another city's department.

Officer Whitney Epps was arrested by officers in New Haven.

They say Epps hit a woman who is either his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. He's been charged with breach of peace and third degree assault.

We're told Epps will be off the streets until the investigation has been completed.

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  08/16/04 - Connecticut - An off-duty Bridgeport police officer has been arrested after allegedly attacking another woman during a Bridgeport Bluefish game. The second woman was also arrested after the melee over the children's behavior.

Kim Nikola, a patrol officer, was charged with disorderly conduct at Monday night's game at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard. She is free on a promise to appear in court pending arraignment next week in Superior Court.

Police say the incident is being investigated by the department.

Nikola was attending the baseball game with her husband when police say she became upset about children running through the stands near them.

Kim Nikola got into an argument about the youngsters with a woman sitting next to her. Police say the confrontation escalated into a shouting match.

Police say the two women grabbed each other and began punching and clawing.

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   06/20/2004 - WINDSOR - A Windsor police officer has been arrested for criminal use of a computer, which officials are calling a 'very serious matter.'

 Officer Michael Lewis is accused of using a police department computer to access information about a person which he then gave to another person who used the information to physically threaten the person whose information was accessed by Lewis.

Lewis is a 22-year veteran of the police force.

He turned himself over the weekend.

Lewis was suspended without pay from his post on the midnight patrol shift. The town has scheduled a pre-termination hearing on Lewis.

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  WEST HARTFORD, Conn.- A local lawyer who has had court confrontations with police officials in the Greater Hartford area has been arrested and charged with assaulting a police lieutenant.

James Brewer, who turned himself in on a warrant, said Thursday that the charges are outrageous and "pure retaliation'' for a lawsuit he has brought against the West Hartford Police Department.

Brewer was charged with assault on a police officer, interfering with a police officer, second-degree breach of peace and attempted third-degree assault.

The charges stem from an incident on May 4 in Brewer's West Hartford law office. He was taking a deposition from West Hartford police Lt. Jack Casey as part of a lawsuit that Brewer filed against the police department on behalf of the widow of a town police officer who killed himself in 1998.

Brewer said that he and West Hartford Corporation Counsel Joseph O'Brien got into a verbal exchange during the deposition.

The incident was videotaped, but neither Brewer nor West Hartford Police Chief James Strillacci would provide any details of the episode Thursday.

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   05/17 2004 - (Hartford) - There is new information tonight on a former Hartford police officer who claims he was tricked into resigning.

Eyewitness News has learned that Santiago Morales is now fighting to get back his job.

Morales has an attorney and says that he wants to be a cop again. Most of all, he wants to restore his reputation.

Officer Morales has said all along that he didn't do anything wrong. Hartford police Chief Pawlina, however, says they have evidence Morales performed misconduct.

The former Hartford officer wants to file a lawsuit against the police department for pressuring him to resign. He says police told him they had a recorded conversation between him and a sixteen-year-old boy. They said that the surveillance tape he was on had strong evidence against him.

This all started on a Monday last March when Morales was on the beat in the neighborhood where he worked. He gave a sixteen-year-old boy a ride to school. The boy says the conversation was sexual. 

The next day, Hartford police had the boy wear a wire and get another ride to school from Morales.

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   08/14/2003 - HARTFORD - The Hartford police union's defense of two veteran officers who were fired after an internal investigation found them guilty of misconduct would be comical if it weren't so appalling.

One officer, Roy E. McCravey, was arrested at a Wal-Mart in Charlotte County, Fla., where, according to police records, he was caught switching price labels on various pieces of merchandise to pay less for them.

He is scheduled to go to trial in Florida this week.

Officer John Nisyrios, meanwhile, was granted a form of probation for first-time offenders known as accelerated rehabilitation for a charge of pilfering spare parts from a Hartford auto yard. Accelerated rehabilitation results in no plea, no jail time and no criminal record after 18 months, as long as Mr. Nisyrios makes a $500 charitable contribution and stays away from the auto yard.

Residents don't typically expect the police union to aid someone accused of thievery. But union President Michael Wood says he plans to challenge the decision to fire the officers, claiming to have evidence that would allow them to keep their jobs.