Finizio Clashes With PCR Chairman Over Police Complaints Procedure

Mayor Daryl Finizio sparred with Police-Community Relations Committee chairman Wayne Vendetto on Tuesday as the committee and administration remained deadlocked over the procedure of hearing citizens’ complaints against police officers.

The committee, which is tasked with reviewing New London Police Department investigations into complaints against officers to determine whether they are complete or incomplete, adjourned without taking action on two complaints dating back to November. At its last meeting, the committee voted to table a complaint under its concerns with the procedure could be resolved.

Vendetto said he has requested that Police Chief Margaret Ackley to send complaints to the committee before signing them, a process that makes the complaints public record, but that this has not happened. He also said that an ordinance dictates that the committee should operate under the polices and procedures approved by the City Council.

“The Council is the committee that tells us what we can do and what we can’t do, and it has not done it,” Vendetto told Finizio. “This is why we have been trying to meet with you and the Council and resolve this.”

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Carl Lee said he did not believe complaints against police officers should be heard in public, saying it is not common practice in other municipal departments.

“I just feel that we’re violating officers’ constitutional rights,” said Lee. “Nobody else in the city government puts it out there like that, the fire department or anybody else.”

Finizio remarks

Finizio and Vendetto briefly disagreed over the mayor’s ability to participate in the discussion. Vendetto disputed that the mayor is an ex-officio member of the committee, while Finizio said the City Charter grants the mayor a non-voting role on city boards and committees.

Finizio said the Police-Community Relations Committee has been praised for open and transparent procedures by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. He said more weight is given to complaints against police officers than other municipal employees due to the unique powers of the police, including the ability to use deadly force.

“That is why we do make this special, and indeed accusations can be made and if routine accusations are made against a particular officer I can understand the sensitivity of that officer and his or her union to seek to prevent or limit that occasion occurring,” said Finizio. “But I think that must be tempered against the public’s right to have a full, open, and transparent process.”

Stalemate on votes

Robert Bareiss, one of three new members joining the committee on Tuesday, suggested that the committee could review the complaints without disclosing the names of the officers or complainants. Roger Baker, representing the New London Police Union, said this would be acceptable to the union.

Erica Richardson questioned why the committee should take a such step, saying the information in the complaints is considered public since the police investigation has concluded.

“It just seems like more red tape and politics,” she said.

A vote to hear the complaints without disclosing the names passed 6-4, but Deputy Police Chief Peter Reichard said he would not be able to provide the complaints with names redacted. Following the vote, Finizio also read the names of the officers in the complaint into the record.

“The administration will always disclose any information that is in the public record,” he said.

Vendetto criticized Finizio’s action, saying it was out of order. Motions to hear the complaints with the names made public and to table the complaints until the next meeting in March each failed in 5-5 votes.

Marie Gravell said she would like the dispute resolved as quickly as possible.

“I don’t want to waste one more minute with coming in and everything deadlocked and not moving forward,” she said.

Councilor John Maynard, chairman of the Public Safety Committee and liaison to the Police-Community Relations Committee, said he will set up a meeting on the matter and will try to schedule it for Monday.

Background

At last month’s meeting, committee members voiced concerns over various aspects of the procedure to review citizens’ complaints against police officers. These included the law director’s opinion that complaints should be reviewed in public rather than executive session and Ackley’s ability to sign complaints before committee review.

Todd Lynch, president of the New London Police Union, said at the meeting that he thought the intention of holding the review of complaints in public was to “humiliate or disgrace union members.” Ackley said in a Sept. 2011 e-mail to resident Kathleen Mitchell that she felt some members of the committee were trying to disband the committee to form a separate police commission, commenting that without the committee “the public would never know which cops have complaints lodged against them and what the complaints say.”

Prior to the January meeting, Mayor Daryl Finizio said no administrative staff should participate in the review of complaints if they are in executive session because it would be in violation of the legal opinion. The committee voted 4-0 to table the single complaint scheduled for review until the procedural concerns had been resolved.

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