Thomas Breen file photo
Troche in court with defense attorney Rosemarie Paine.
City police commissioners voted unanimously to fire Christopher Troche, after the 32-year-old now-ex-cop was arrested last year for allegedly pressuring an undocumented Honduran immigrant to send him nude photographs and have sex with him in exchange for money.
The firing was finalized at a special meeting of the city Board of Police Commissioners that took place over Zoom on July 26.
After discussing the matter for 20 minutes in a private “executive session,” the commissioners voted 5 – 0 in support of Police Chief Karl Jacobson’s recommendation to terminate Officer Troche’s employment with the New Haven Police Department (NHPD).
They also voted unanimously to accept a “waiver agreement” that allowed Troche to be fired without first having an evidentiary hearing before the commission. That waiver, purportedly requested by Troche, allows the now-former cop to more quickly advance to arbitration to contest his termination — all while he continues to battle a separate but related criminal misdemeanor charge still working its way through state court.
Troche, who joined the NHPD in 2018, had been on paid administrative leave since April 2021 for an incident in which he allegedly pressured a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant in Fair Haven to have sex with him in exchange for money back in January 2021. In November 2021, he was arrested on one misdemeanor count of patronizing a prostitute.
Troche has pleaded not guilty to that charge. His next court hearing in the ongoing criminal matter is scheduled for Aug. 10.
Troche did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this article.
On Monday afternoon, city police union attorney Marshall Segar provided the Independent with the following comment via email: “Officer Christopher Troche’s employment with the City of New Haven Police Department was terminated by the Board of Police Commissioners effective 7/26/2022. The Police Union will file a grievance for Officer Troche and an arbitration request in the upcoming days. No further comment regarding this case will be made at this time.”
Since so much of last Tuesday’s commission meeting took place during executive session, the commissioners said very little on the record about why they voted to fire Troche.
“I think it’s important to point out that there is a factual basis for the termination,” city Police Commissioner Michael Lawlor said during a brief public portion of the meeting.
Referring to Troche’s ongoing criminal case, Lawlor said, “The arrest warrants, etc., are all public information and have been widely available to the members of the public. I just want to be clear that there is a factual basis, and I’m prepared to cast a vote based on the factual basis together with this [waiver] agreement.”
Police Commission Chair Evelise Ribeiro agreed. “This [termination] was warranted as far as the commission is concerned, based on the facts as we are aware. It’s definitely public information.”
City-hired attorney Floyd Dugas at July 26 Zoomed police commission meeting.
In separate phone interviews with the Independent on Monday, Jacobson and city-hired attorney Floyd Dugas clarified the circumstances surrounding the waiver agreement.
They both said that Troche requested the waiver so that the commissioners could take a vote on whether or not to fire him without the commission actually hosting an evidentiary hearing on the matter, first.
“In New Haven, only the police commission has the authority to fire a police officer,” Dugas said. “And so what the parties have agreed to is that we will basically skip a hearing before the commission. Because there’s a criminal pending case, [Troche and his lawyer] were concerned about a public hearing before the commission, so instead they wanted to skip that.
“That basically means that the chief’s recommendation for termination is accepted by the commission, and now Troche and the union have the right to go directly to arbitration,” if they so choose.
Yash Roy photo
Police Chief Jacobson: Troche's actions "have violated the public trust."
Jacobson agreed. He told the Independent that the waiver agreement was done “because Troche’s attorney didn’t want him to testify at [the Board of Police Commissioners] meeting due to the criminal case.”
“If you read the warrant,” Jacobson continued, “his actions have violated the public trust regarding law enforcement credibility with the community. He does not represent the values the NHPD stands for as well as he committed a crime against a vulnerable person. This is part of the accountability and transparency the community demands and should receive.”
Jacobson also told the Independent that he has already sent the necessary paperwork to the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) to try to get Troche de-certified as a police officer in the state. If POST signs off on that request, Troche would not be able to work again as a police officer in Connecticut.
According to an unsealed arrest warrant affidavit in Troche’s criminal case, in January 2021, Troche responded to an unrelated call to the police for help by a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant living in Fair Haven.
That woman told police that Troche promptly contacted her after that initial call for help, got her drunk, had sex with her at his downtown home, and gave her $100 in cash.
She also told police investigators that Troche was one of five New Haven police officers she had sexual relationships with during her time in Fair Haven, including resigned and de-certified former New Haven cop Gary Gamarra.
The misdemeanor charge of soliciting a prostitute, meanwhile, stems from the victim’s and police investigators’ allegations that Troche spent months pressuring this young woman by text message to send him nude photographs and have sex with him again in exchange for money. (The section of the law invoked does not involve dealings with an actual prostitute, but rather the offer of money for sex.)
See below for previous articles about Troche’s alleged misconduct, arrest, and criminal case.
• Arrested Cop’s Case Continued To April
• Arrested Cop Pleads Not Guilty In Immigrant-Sex Case
• Immigrant-Sex Case Cop’s Lawyer: He’s Innocent
• Affidavit Details Cop’s Alleged Pressure Tactics In Immigrant Sex Case
• Cop Arrested On Sex Charge Involving Immigrant, 19, Who Sought Police Help
• Cop Probed On Immigrant Harassment
It's a bad look-- to fire before the guilt is determined. I know there is an appeal strategy but it just does not look right