Leng: ​“Legal Process” Will Be Followed

(Updated at 10:15 p.m.)—Hamden Mayor Curt Leng promised to follow the ​“legal process,” complete an investigation, and submit a disciplinary recommendation to the police commission now that the state has formally charged Hamden Officer Devin Eaton for his role in the shooting and injuring of an unarmed couple in Newhallville in April.

The president of the town’s Legislative Council, meanwhile, cautioned his colleagues as to the limitations that the police union contract places on how much, and how quickly, that prospective discipline might take effect.

Leng made that promise to reporters at a brief press conference Monday afternoon on the third floor of the Hamden Government Center at 2750 Dixwell Ave.

Legislative Council President Mick McGarry followed up on the mayor’s comments with his own perspective on what happens next in a statement he read during Monday night’s regular council meeting. (See more at the bottom of this article for McGarry’s comments.)

The afternoon press conference was held several hours after the state Division of Criminal Justice made public that Eaton has been arrested and charged with one felony count and two misdemeanor counts for his role in the April 16 shooting and injurity of Paul Witherspoon and Stephanie Washington in Newhallville. (Click here and here to read State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin’s full investigative report.)

Standing in front of Hamden’s ​“Hall of Mayors” alongside town Acting Chief of Police John Cappiello and Legislative Council President Mick McGarry, Leng reiterated information the police department had sent out in a press release earlier Monday morning — and then took no questions from the press.

He said he ​“respect[s] the decision of the state’s attorney to prosecute Officer Eaton on these three very serious charges,” and that the town would now follow the law as it moves forward with its own internal investigation.

“We are all deeply concerned by what we have seen, and we should be. We really should be,” Leng continued. ​“That said, in order for the process to maintain its integrity and ultimate outcomes — and that’s the important part to remember — the legal process needs to be followed carefully and responsibly.”

The Hamden Ethics and Integrity Unit, or Internal Affairs, currently has its own investigation underway into the April 16 shooting, he said. That unit of the town police department will now use evidence contained in the State’s Attorney’s report to continue its investigation — which had been postponed during the state police’s months-long investigation. 

Cappiello, who was present at the press conference but did not speak, will then issue a recommendation to the police commission for Eaton’s discipline. Cappiello is quoted in the earlier press release as saying that the investigation will be complete and the disciplinary recommendation submitted to the police commission within the next 30 days.

The police commission will then make a determination, which could include termination, ​“after the completion of a formal hearing process.”

Leng said he wanted to highlight the ​“ongoing efforts of the Hamden Police Department to address pressing issues identified as a result of this incident and embracing positive and proactive changes that will make our community and will make our hardworking men and women of our Hamden Police Department safer and stronger.”

Leng told the Independent that those efforts include increased community policing, participation in a comprehensive review of this case and of policies and procedures, participation in New Haven Neighborhood Management Team meetings, and increased deescalation training.

Over the summer, the department instated a policy that requires officers to spend 30 minutes of every shift ​“engaging in a positive manner” with members of the community.

Neither Leng, Cappiello, nor McGarry took any questions. ​“It would be inappropriate of me today to make any further comments at this time due to the ongoing Hamden [internal investigation] and especially based on the criminal charges,” Leng concluded.

A press release sent out Monday morning by Hamden Police Capt. Ronald Smith, meanwhile, quoted Cappiello as saying that the internal affairs division will continue working with independent consultant Jeffrey Noble as it completes its own report on the April 16 shooting.

“It will then be the responsibility of the Chief of Police to make a recommendation to the Police Commission concerning what action to take concerning Officer Eaton,” the press release read. ​“The deadline for issuance of a departmental complaint against Officer Eaton will be approximately 30 days from today.”

“Under the Town Charter,” it continued, ​“the Police Commission has the sole power to remove police personnel. Under the collective bargaining agreement that covers police officers, only the Police Commission can impose discipline in excess of a five day suspension. When deciding whether to remove an officer or impose other discipline, the Police Commission first receives a recommendation from the Chief of Police

“Officer Eaton is currently on administrative leave. As required by Section 46.3(B) the collective bargaining agreement, this has been a paid leave. Once the State’s Attorney brings felony charges in accordance with today’s announcement, however, it will be converted to unpaid leave.

“Officer Eaton is entitled to the presumption of innocence, like any other accused individual, and is presumed innocent of the criminal charges until convicted by a jury of his peers in a court of law.”

McGarry: Practice ​“Restraint”

At a meeting of the Hamden Legislative Council Monday evening, McGarry told his fellow council members that they should be mindful of the limitations of what they can do.

“I respect the restraint that all of the council members have demonstrated in the past few months and ask that all of us continue to be mindful of our role as fiduciaries for this community as this case moves forward on multiple fronts,” he said in a statement he read at the beginning of the meeting.

McGarry prepared his statement with the help of the town’s labor attorneys and with the council’s attorney, Steve Mednick. It was not a statement of the council, but rather a statement only from McGarry himself.

The town is limited in what it can do, he said, by the contract it negotiated with the Hamden Police Union.

“The disciplinary process,” he wrote, ​“is governed by the local labor agreement which, under state law, supersedes our town charter and other local enactments. I would like to emphasize this point, the labor agreement supersedes the town charter.”

At many points in the six months since the shooting, protesters have demanded that the Hamden Police Commission terminate Officer Eaton. (Read more about that here and here .)

Though the town charter states that the commission has the power to hire and fire officers, the police union contract states that any employee has a right to a hearing once the town has notified him or her of charges. 

According to Section 7 – 474‑f of the Connecticut Municipal Employees Relations Act, collective bargaining agreements take precedence over local charters and laws.

“Where there is a conflict between any agreement reached by a municipal employer and an employee organization… the terms of such agreement shall prevail,” it states.

“Due to the terms of the labor agreement,” McGarry said in his statement, ​“our actions will not and cannot impact any current administrative or disciplinary processes.” However, it noted, the council has vowed to hire an independent reviewer to review the police department’s internal affairs investigation. The council has also committed to using the consultant to examine department’s handling of the August, 2018 police pursuit that resulted in the death of Jarelle Gibbs. McGarry said that the council is in the process of searching for this independent reviewer.