Some East Haven Officials Want Department of Justice Oversight To Finally End

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

EAST HAVEN, CT – It has been nearly five years that the East Haven police department has operated under the watchful eye of the Department of Justice in an effort to right past wrongs and some want to know when it will be out from under the embarrassing, and costly, microscope.

At the most recent Town Council meeting, after approving nearly $50,000 in overtime costs associated with costs to comply with the DOJ decrees, council members questioned Police Chief Ed Lennon on how much longer the town would be dealing with the issue.

Lennon answered he did not know, but that the department had “submitted all of their paperwork” to the DOJ as required, “and have been in compliance for 3-plus years.”

But Council members Nicholas Palladio and Charles Lang asked the chief, “When is this going to end.”

The chief said he did not know, but that the agreement with the federal authorities was supposed to end at the end of last year but, as far as he knows, is still waiting for sign off from a federal judge.

Town Attorney Joseph Zullo concurred with Lennon that, he too, believes the next step is just waiting to hear from the DOJ that the town is clear and free to run its own police operations.

Lawrence Sgrignari, who has been the town’s liaison attorney on DOJ police department matters, confirmed that the town’s “final report” to the DOJ has been reviewed and accepted and East Haven is just waiting to be notified “that the agreement is officially terminated.”

The town fell under DOJ jurisdiction after four East Haven Police Officers were arrested as a result of the federal probe are no longer affiliated with the department.

Former Officers David Cari and Dennis Spaulding were each convicted of civil rights abuses in October 2013, while two others, former Sgt. John Miller and former Officer Jason Zullo, pleaded guilty to lesser, unrelated charges. Zullo was sentenced to two years in prison, Cari to 30 months and Spaulding to five years.

They were arrested in the early morning hours of Jan. 24, 2012, on an indictment charging that the four “conspired to injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate various members of the East Haven community in violation of their Constitutional rights.”

The arrests were sparked by a DOJ investigation of the East Haven police, which began in 2009.

The DOJ agreement with the town, after the arrests, called for more extensive training for officers, including 32 hours of annual training for all officers.

It also ordered “bias-free policing,” stating that the “EHPD shall deliver police services that are equitable, respectful, and free of unlawful bias, in a manner that promotes broad community engagement and confidence in the Department.

And more interaction between the police and the community has helped heal wounds, she said. The agreement requires monthly meetings with community groups so the police are hearing directly from the community.

The department also initiated the purchase of body cameras for officers.