By Kate Ramunni
Register Staff
HAMDEN >> A report on the rate at which police officers conduct traffic stops on minority drivers that suggests some Hamden officers have a propensity to stop African-Americans will lead to more sensitivity training, the department’s chief said Friday.

Read more here. 

By Keldy Ortiz

HAMDEN >> The Legislative Council unanimously approved 39 body cameras for the police department Monday night, suiting every uniformed officer on the street.
The council approved 39 Axon Wearable Body Cameras for $59,135.35, paid for by the town’s capital improvement budget. This will bring the total to 75 policer officers with body cameras, said Police Chief Thomas Wydra.
“This is the national conversation of today,” Wydra said. “I’m glad the council supports this.”

Read more here. 

By Evan Lips
Register Staff
EAST HAVEN >> Robert Salatto of New Haven, whose accusation that former Police Officer Jason Zullo purposely rammed his motorcycle as he sped away from an attempted traffic stop resulted in the officer entering a guilty plea, recently settled a $330,000 civil suit he filed against the Police Department.
New Haven attorney Hugh Keefe, who represented the town in the matter, confirmed Friday that the parties reached a settlement but refused to confirm the dollar amount and declined to make any further comment.

Read more here. 

This is Trent, a purebred Labrador, a narcotics detection K-9, a first for the Orange Police Department. He was trained to detect numerous illegal drugs including marijuana, heroin, ecstasy, opiates, and more. Trent was purchased through Guiding Eyes in New York through a Connecticut State Police Program that takes dogs not suited for guide work and sends them to police departments as bomb, arson and narcotic dogs. Trent was funded through asset forfeiture monies the Orange police department received through past narcotic investigations. / Contributed photo

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor
Bristol police Officers Eric Wethered and Jason Kasparian took aim at a threatening male suspect on a screen in the Police Department’s new shooting decision simulator, and shouted at him to drop his weapon.
They decided to shoot when the suspect went for a weapon — and when the simulation was over, a training officer, Eric Ouellette, evaluated how they did.
The simulator is designed to help police prepare for potential deadly force situations, and it is just one of many purchases that police around the state made after getting funds through federal and state criminal asset forfeiture programs.
Police agencies reported using the funds for a variety of purchases, including police dogs, pistols, computer equipment and shooting simulators.

Read the full story here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
and Viktoria Sundqvist

Seven out of the eight Connecticut police departments that received poor grades on a recent public information compliance test have improved their access to arrest information, a follow-up check shows. The exception was Hamden.
The New Haven Register, The Middletown Press and The Register Citizen in March tested all of the 92 municipal police departments and 11 state police troops for compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Read more here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor

NEW HAVEN >> The city Police Department is now making an arrest log available to the public at headquarters.
The move comes in response to a Freedom of Information Act compliance check of all police departments   around the state conducted by staff at the New Haven Register, The Middletown Press and The Register Citizen.
The newspapers gave the New Haven department an “F” after it failed to provide an arrest log when a reporter visited.

Read the full story here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
and Viktoria Sundqvist

Five municipal police departments and one state police troop flouted Freedom of Information law in a statewide compliance check this month by refusing to release even basic arrest information upon request.
New Haven police didn’t provide any required information, with spokesman David Hartman telling a reporter who asked to see the arrest log, that “You’ll never get blotter from us, we are just too damn busy.”
“It is not public information; these are arrests, not convictions,” Hartman added.
Police departments across the state vary widely in terms of what information they release to the public, the compliance check done by staff at the New Haven Register, The Middletown Press and The Register Citizen shows.
The three newspapers tested all 92 municipal police departments across Connecticut and 11 state police troops on their compliance with the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

Read more here.

Check out follow-up stories too, here and here.

 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN >> A pilot who was injured during a 2012 encounter with a city police officer is trying to clear his name, through a lawsuit and by releasing surveillance video of the incident.

Timur Andiric of Berlin, Conn., sued Officer Josh Kyle in U.S. District Court last year. The litigation claims Andiric was subjected to unreasonable force and falsely accused of interfering with a police officer.
Andiric said he suffered a head wound requiring eight stitches and a broken nose after police slammed him to the ground and used a Taser on him, because he left a New Haven bar with a beer in his hand.

Read the full story and watch videos of the incident here.

Mara Lavitt/New Haven Register An East Haven cruiser and a car collided at the I-95 southbound entrance ramp on Sargent Dr. in New Haven 1/17.

Mara Lavitt/New Haven Register An East Haven cruiser and a car collided at the I-95 southbound entrance ramp on Sargent Dr. in New Haven 1/17.

By Jennifer Swift
Register Staff
EAST HAVEN >> Police officers acted in ways that were “unconstitutional,” abused their power and severely violated a litany of the department’s policies, procedures and codes of conduct, while investigating a misdemeanor and operating in New Haven months ago, an internal affairs investigation report shows.
The internal affairs investigation, obtained by the Register via a Freedom of Information request that was granted mid-day on the July 4 holiday, probed the conduct of seven officers and sustained allegations of misconduct for five of them for incidents on Jan. 17.
Several police officers questioned multiple people, drove through New Haven and East Haven with lights and sirens activated, and some changed their story during the course of the deputy chief’s investigation into the matter, all because they were investigating a misdemeanor purse snatching of an officer’s mother, which led them out of their jurisdiction.

Read more here.

By Rich Scinto

Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Police officers are held to a higher standard.
That’s what Judge Maureen Keegan said before she decided to move on with criminal cases for a former New Haven police officer and two current officers on unpaid leave after they allegedly fired shots into the air after a night at a bar.

Read more here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor 

HAMDEN — The town Thursday disclosed it settled an excessive force lawsuit against the Police Department last year for $55,000.
Mayor Scott Jackson called it a “business decision” to settle as opposed to taking the case to trial.
The suit had been filed by Stephen and Nicholas Alberino in U.S. District Court in 2008. While the case was settled early last year, town officials refused to release the amount involved until now.

Read more here.

Branford-- Branford Police officer Jim Johnson wears one of the department's new VieVu personal camera, which is flicked on when needed. Photo- Peter Casolino/New Haven Register 03/16/12

By Michael Bellmore
and Rich Scinto
Body cams may well be the next big change in policing.
A number of departments in the region have already started using them, and some chiefs say it’s only a matter of time until every officer in the country is equipped with a camera.
Advancement in technology and the lower cost that goes with it means officers can add to their gear lightweight cameras that will allow them to record their interactions with the public.

Read more here. 

Hamden Police Officer Stephen Baris shows his Electronic Controlled Weapon manufactured by Taser at the Hamden Police Department Thursday, April 4, 2013. Photo by Peter Hvizdak / New Haven Register.

By Michael Bellmore
Register Staff
Marcus Brown, 26, of Waterbury died while in police custody May 1, 2011.
He was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car after being apprehended in St. Mary’s Hospital, charged with breach of peace.
Brown was combative and repeatedly kicked the inside door and window of the police car. After issuing a warning, Waterbury police Officer Adrian Sanchez used a department-issue Taser, an electric stun gun, to subdue Brown.
Minutes later, Brown was found unresponsive. After being taken to the hospital emergency room, he was pronounced dead.

Read more here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

Michael Wood, a college student, is suing Hamden police in federal court for allegedly beating and using a Taser on him on Nov. 1, 2009 in Hamden when he was 18-years-old.

HAMDEN — What started with a fistfight over a cab ended with police using a Taser on college student Michael Wood and subjecting him to a “vicious and brutal beating,” according to a lawsuit Wood has filed against police.
At the end of the ordeal, Wood’s father, Ken, says he initially didn’t recognize his own son due to his injuries.

Read more here.

Michael Wood, a college student, is suing Hamden police in federal court for allegedly beating and using a Taser on him on Nov. 1, 2009 in Hamden when he was 18-years-old.

Gustavo Morales sued New Haven in 2011, claiming police punched him in the face while he was already handcuffed and offering no resistance. The lawsuit claims�Morales lost consciousness during the alleged beating.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
While a federal probe concluded that unreasonable force was tolerated and encouraged in East Haven’s police department, three other Greater New Haven departments are facing more lawsuits alleging police brutality, a New Haven Register investigation found.
New Haven, Hamden, West Haven and East Haven have the bulk of the region’s legal complaints alleging excessive force — and attorneys representing those who are suing claim the departments have a problem and need to take action.

Read the full story here.

Watch a slideshow of individuals alleging police brutality here.

Read more about some excessive force cases in the region here. 

See a list of lawsuits with links to documents here.

East Haven Police Officer David Cari is photographedon 1/29/2010. Photo by Arnold Gold AG0350B

By Jennifer Swift
Register Staff
EAST HAVEN — Prohibited from performing police work, four officers arrested in early 2012 after a federal probe into alleged racial profiling collected salaries, retirement payouts and stipends totaling more than $300,000 while on paid administrative leave, documents show.
Officers still accrued sick and holiday time, despite never having to take a sick or vacation day because they were not permitted to work.
They also collected uniform stipends, despite not having to wear them, rewards for not smoking, and one even earned a perfect attendance stipend for $400. These stipends are stipulated in their union contract.

Read more here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor
HAMDEN — A federal lawsuit filed against the town by the mother of David Mills, who died after police subdued him with a Taser stun gun in 2007, was settled this month for $125,000.
Mills’ mother, town resident Judith Ireland, sued the town and Sgt. William Sikorsky in 2007, claiming police used “unreasonable force” on Mills. The suit further claimed the town inadequately trained Sikorsky, who has since retired, in the use of the device.

Read more here.

By Jennifer Swift

Register Staff

EAST HAVEN — More charges are pending against one of four police officers charged with conspiring to violate and violating civil rights, and more “overt acts” of three of the four officers originally charged are included in a superseding indictment that came down Tuesday.
The new charges came days after Sgt. John Miller pleaded guilty Friday to depriving an individual of his right to be free from the use of excessive force by a law enforcement officer and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. Miller could avoid jail time. The original indictment said the other three officers, Jason Zullo, David Cari and Dennis Spaulding, were known as “Miller’s Boys.”

Read more here.