Officer Bandy on the set of his weekly podcast.
Officer Jason Bandy, a decade-plus veteran of the local police force who hosts a regular podcast promoting QAnon and other extremist anti-government conspiracy theories, retired from the New Haven Police Department effective August 27.
Bandy’s retirement notice is included in a weekly personnel report sent out by the city’s Department of Human Resources.
The retirement marks the end of a law enforcement career filled with controversy.
From his rookie year on the local force back in 2009, four different police chiefs have sought to take disciplinary action against the East Haven native for what they considered dangerous or unprofessional behavior.
That included an incident during his rookie year when Bandy called out sick from work, got drunk at a downtown bar with two colleagues, peed on the bar floor, and refused orders from bouncers and a police officer to leave the club. The department fired him after that — and then rehired him per a settlement with the union that changed Bandy’s job termination to a one-year unpaid suspension.
Click here to read about other causes for discipline, and about subsequent lawsuits filed by Bandy against the department, over the course of his over 10 years with the NHPD.
In recent months while out on sick leave due to an injury, Bandy has taken to social media and a weekly podcast called “For The Love” to promote conspiracy theories about Satan-worshiping international rings of child sex-traffickers, deliberate government exaggerations of Covid-19, and the FBI-recognized extremist group QAnon. He has also dedicated much of his online life to touting a pre-workout vape business he runs out of his home.
Bandy has consistently declined to comment for previous Independent stories about his public online life and career. He and his supporters criticized a previous Independent story about his Facebook postings and concerns about his mental fitness for his police job, arguing that it unfairly attacked his right to free speech because he advances right-of-center views.
Per the terms of the city police union’s latest contract, members of the police department qualify for a pension after 10 years of continuous service with the NHPD. That pension does not start getting paid out until a former officer reaches the age of 52 or hits what would have been his or her 20-year mark on the force. The amount of a vested pension is equal to 2 percent of a retiree’s average rate of pay for his or her final 10 full years of actual service for each full year of actual service as a police officer.
Wow pathetic left wing newspaper proves once again they are obsessed with officer Bandy . With any luck cancel culture will hit you guys where it hurts !!