The Board of Police Commissioners met on September 1, with members convening in person for the first time in five months. Recent meetings have been held online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Two nonmembers listened in over the phone.

The bulk of last week’s meeting had Police Chief James Viadero presenting a synopsis of the recently passed House Bill 6004, An Act Concerning Police Accountability.

The commission also received an update on the construction of the new police headquarters at 191 South Main Street, the names of the current union representation, and recent correspondence.

A brief executive session was also conducted before the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm. The 25-minute session concerned personnel matters.

For nearly 60 minutes, Viadero’s presentation recapped the department’s responsibilities and changes. He highlighted training requirements and policy revisions and implementation that need to be accomplished in coming months.

He also highlighted points where the department is already in compliance, such as the required use of dash and body cameras. While the state bill goes into effect July 1, 2022, Viadero pointed out that Newtown has been using dashboard mounted cameras since 2002, and body cams “for 2-2½ years.”

By January 1, 2025, all municipalities in Connecticut are to be accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Newtown PD, the chief pointed out, is already accredited Tier 1 through the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POSTC).

The bill passed in June increases the responsibilities of POSTC, the chief said. The council, of which Viadero is a member, already oversaw training, retention, and anything to do with certification of municipal law enforcement officers.

As of July 1, POSTC also has the authority to cancel certification of officers if they are found to falsify documents, if they are found to be a convicted felon, if they are “found not guilty of a felon by reason of mental disease or defect,” or if they are found to have used a firearm “in an improper manner which resulted in the death or serious injury of another person,” among other causes.

Depending on the violation and the subsequent determination by POSTC, violations can result in a temporary suspension or permanent cancellation of an officer’s certification.

Loss of certification is a career-ender for a police officer in this state.

“Once someone’s certification is pulled by POSTC, you cannot be a certified police officer in the state of Connecticut,” Viadero stated. Once certification is pulled, a former officer cannot work as a security officer.

“This is obvious, but it was put into the statute,” Viadero said.

Recertification requirements were covered, as was Implicit Bias Training. Viadero reminded the board that Newtown PD is already in discussion with a group that is formatting a program for local law enforcement.

A Police Accountability Task Force will study the feasibility of officers retaining liability insurance, how officers conduct no-knock warrants — “entering a home without announcing yourself,” Viadero explained, “because announcing yourself could put yourself in danger” — and traffic stops based on primary vs secondary violations.

“There will be discussion over what will be primary and secondary violations,” Viadero said. “This is going to be something the task force looks at, but essentially it means if you stop somebody it has to be for a primary violation.

“We don’t know yet what the primaries are,” he continued. “Some of the non-primaries will probably be mechanical violations, which is always a point of contention for many individuals. Those will become secondary.

“I’d consider distracted driving primary, since that causes so many accidents,” he said. “Speeding will also be primary.”

There will be further discussion, he said, to clarify primary and secondary violations. “If you stop somebody it has to be for a primary violation,” he reiterated.

One of the biggest things that will cause “a lot of angst,” Viadero said, is an officer’s use of deadly force.

There is probably “no greater decision in an officer’s career,” said the chief, than the use of deadly force.

“The language has changed significantly as far as when an officer has to use that force,” he said. “The legal standard is going to change. We’re trying to work on what this policy is, and drill down on what police officers need to know, and what they do on a day to day basis.”

One of the biggest challenges of this section of the state bill is its implementation date.

“As we were writing a model policy, the implementation date was asked for January, or may October,” Viadero said. “The training that goes into getting the policy written, officers training, and policy implemented, is all going to take some time.”

The implementation of this section of the bill has been set for April 1, which the police chief still feels is “a pretty aggressive date considering we’ll have to train 8,000 officers” across the state.

“That’s a challenge,” he said. “That’s a monumental task.”

As of October 1, officers will have additional Use of Force Reporting standards.

Also as of that date, police officers can no longer ask for consent to search a motor vehicle if a stop was solely for a motor vehicle violation.

“If they develop probably cause, they are allowed to then search a car, but they cannot initially ask for that consent,” Viadero explained. “Consent will be recorded in writing or recorded via the body cam.”

If a vehicle is stopped for a motor vehicle violation, but upon approach an officer smells marijuana, “they then have probably cause,” the police chief offered as an example.

The bill does not preclude an officer from doing a pat down, “especially if an officer believes a person is armed and/or involved in criminal activity,” the chief said.

As of October 1, police officers will be prohibited from asking for non-driving identifications. The bill states that officers cannot request other documentation unless probable cause exists to believe an offense has been committed or the vehicle operator fails to produce a valid operator’s license.

Penalties are increased, also as of the beginning of the month, for falsely reporting an incident or misusing 911 based on bigotry of bias.

“Individuals using 911 to weaponize police due to someone’s race” will face harsher penalties, the police chief said. “If that can be established, there is a change now that we can charge that individual.”

Crowd Management Policy

Viadero last week also briefed the board on the department’s crowd management policy.

Officer Jeff Silver had worked on the document, according to the chief, who also regarded the policy as being “pretty straightforward.”

In creating the local policy, Silver reached out to other police departments with policies already in place, researched online, and looked at what Newtown already does, according to the police chief.

Viadero pointed out that his department’s work on the policy is another one ahead of the mandated date to have one in place.

“We’ve done classroom and hands-on training, something that hadn’t been in the policy until recently,” he pointed out. “We’re getting out in front of the mandate with something we need to have.”

The purpose of the policy is to establish guidelines for managing crowds, protecting individual rights, and preserve the peace during demonstrations and civil disturbances. The seven-page document outlines the local police agency’s steps for preparation and planning, management and organization principles, general crowd response, response to spontaneous civil disturbances, use of force, mass arrest, and deactivation.

It outlines the roles and duties of different officers before, during, and after such events. It also covers training requirements.

Commission Chair Faxon called the policy “comprehensive.”

In response to a question about permits for assembled events, the police chief said that while Newtown does have an ordinance in place, “sometimes it’s followed, sometimes it isn’t.

“With the advent of social media, we tend to know when something is being planned in town,” he said. The department prefers to have advance contact with event organizers, however, as outlined in its crowd management policy.

Following this presentation, the commission voted unanimously to approve the policy. The crowd control policy is also one of the new state mandated requirements.

Other Business

In speaking of the continued construction for the new police headquarters at 191 South Main Street, Viadero said “progress is going phenomenally. It’s quite a sight to see,” he added. “It’s a state of the art building, coming in on time, coming in on budget, and we anticipate it will be under budget when completed.”

The police chief invited the commission for the next planned walk-through, that was scheduled for the afternoon of September 3.

“Much of the interior work is done,” he said. “Sensitive details” like IT work and security details, “still need to be done,” he added. “We anticipate that by early October we’ll have everything buttoned up.”

Officer Leonard Penna has stepped down as president of the police union, the chief also reported. That change of leadership happened following the recent contract renewal. Detective Daniel McAnaspie will serve as interim president until elections are held in January.

Additional union representation includes Sergeant Liam Seabrook, vice president; Officer Bart Lorancaitis, treasurer; and Officer James, secretary.

The police chief also shared multiple notes and letters received from the public in recent weeks. Most offered support to the department in light of recent campaigns to defund departments across the country. A few offered thanks, either in general for continued safety measures and protection or for specific events, as well as for responses following the August 4 tropical storm that once again some left residents without power for up to a week-plus.

The board also referenced, and the chief concurred on, a letter that ran recently in The Newtown Bee. Resident Charles Paulsen had written about the response by multiple local first responder agencies after he found an exterminator in front of his home in medical distress. Paulsen’s letter highlighted the efforts of Officer Michael McGowan.

Viadero said the letter offered “a positive and uplifting perspective on how positive the police response was in what was a difficult incident.”

Commission Chair Joel Faxon said that the department does not get enough positive recognition.

“No one in the department looks for these accolades, but it’s important to know about that letter. First responders acting this way shouldn’t go unnoticed,” he said.

The department also received a request for help with traffic calming, Viadero said. He had not yet followed up with the resident who made the request two weeks earlier, but planned to do so.