“Are you a cop?”
“No, I am not,” Jason Bandy allegedly replied after causing a ruckus at a downtown bar on a supposed sick day.
Bandy was a cop that night. He might not be one much longer.
Police Chief James Lewis has recommended firing Bandy (pictured), a 24-year-old rookie cop, over that alleged ruckus. The police commission is set to meet Tuesday to decide his fate.
Lewis said he found Bandy guilty of 10 departmental violations stemming from an Oct. 30 incident at the Center Street Lounge. Bandy allegedly called in sick, got drunk at the bar with two fellow cops, then refused to leave when staff tried to evict him, according to court records.
Bandy at first denied he was a cop. He didn’t admit until a couple hours later, when two cops allegedly found him asleep on the floor of his bedroom, still “extremely drunk.”
Those details are revealed in an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Connecticut Superior Court on Elm Street, where Bandy is due to appear Friday on criminal charges (separate from the departmental charges Chief Lewis has brought). Bandy was charged with second-degree breach of peace, interfering with an officer, and disorderly conduct.
Bandy’s lawyer, Gregory Cerritelli, and police union president Louis Cavaliere did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The arrest warrant affidavit, written by Sgt. Chris Rubino, recounts the barroom disputes between Bandy and the bouncer and the cop who tried to evict him. Here’s what happened, according to the affidavit:
It was just after closing time, around 1 a.m., at the Center Street Lounge at 84 Orange St. A female employee went into the men’s room to clean up. She found Bandy peeing on the floor next to the urinal. She asked what he was doing.
“Shut the fuck up,” he told her, according to the affidavit.
She called for a bouncer, Andre St. Clair. He, too, asked Bandy what he was doing.
“Don’t worry about it. Get the hell away from me,” Bandy allegedly replied.
“Sir, it’s time for you to go,” said St. Clair.
“Do you know who I am?” Bandy replied, according to the affidavit.
“Leave or get carried out,” ordered St. Clair.
Bandy then reached into his rear right pocket, took out his wallet and “brandished” his police badge, the affidavit alleges. St. Clair noted it was badge number 14. He called in Det. Wilfredo Cruz.
Cruz was working extra-duty at the club that night. In a report of the incident, he wrote that he saw Bandy leave the men’s room, “stumbling.” Bandy was standing with a friend, who’s also a cop.
“You guys have to go. The club is closed,” Cruz said, according to the affidavit. Bandy didn’t go.
“Are you a New Haven cop?” Cruz asked.
“No, I am not,” Bandy allegedly replied.
Bandy allegedly made that denial three times, even as his friend, a fellow cop, nodded “yes” that they were both officers.
That denial would not be an offense in itself, said Chief Lewis, because Bandy did tell police his name. But it did set the tone for the evening.
As Bandy walked toward the front of the club, he kicked a pile of garbage and spit at the bar counter as he walked past it, according to the affidavit.
“Hey, what is wrong with you? What is your problem? How dare you embarrass the New Haven police badge like that!” Cruz said to him, according to Cruz’s own report.
“Don’t worry about it. Get away from me,” Bandy allegedly replied.
Bandy and his friend then left the bar. Cruz called for backup.
Sgt. Rubino took the case. He and Sgt. David Guliuzza tracked down Bandy’s home address. They knocked on his door at 3 a.m. Bandy’s mother, Joanne, answered the door.
“Did he do anything? I have never seen him this drunk,” the mom replied, according to the affidavit.
The two cops went upstairs to Bandy’s bedroom. They found him sleeping on the floor. When he woke up, they found him slurring and repeating words. He was “still extremely drunk,” the affidavit alleges. Bandy admitted being at the bar with a couple of off-duty cops.
Staff at the Center Street Lounge told police they’d like to make a formal complaint, Rubino wrote. He wrote up his colleague on the three criminal charges.
Chief Lewis then took the case for internal review. He put Bandy on booking duty while he examined the offense. Lewis came up with 10 violations of departmental policy, including abuse of sick time.
The offense was “very severe,” Lewis said. “When you call in sick and you’re not, there’s a question of honesty.”
The police chief has the power to issue punishments only up to a 15-day suspension. For further punishment, he must make a recommendation to the police commission.
Lewis said he recommended termination. He’ll make his case Tuesday before the police commission.
Why did the Center Street Lounge continue serving drinks to somebody who is that drunk? He probably should be fired, but really, the bar has some responsibility here and it doesn't sound like employees there used much adult judgement either.