Mayor: Bunnell to Answer Charges During 'Day in Court'

Today, Montville Police Lt. Leonard Bunnell will have “his day in court, so to speak,” Mayor Ronald McDaniel said.

“Lenny will have the chance to (answer) the charges leveled against him. It’s a process. He’ll have his say and I’ll make a decision.” And following that, McDaniel said he’d notify both Bunnell and the police union. “They’ll have the option to grieve it, if they choose. Like I said, it’s a process. It takes as long as it takes.”

The Charges

Bunnell is facing disciplinary action for the charges connected with the state police major crimes probe into the between October of 2011 and January of 2012. 

Troop E commanding officer Lt. Samuel R. Izzarelli lodged the complaint against Bunnell after getting a report by a system auditor. The Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing (COLLECT) System lets users find information that the state has about people, and find motor vehicle and criminal history data on the national and international level.

The  It’s alleged Bunnell conducted background checks on behalf of a “town hall employee.” That employee has not been named.

Other allegations 'generally happened'

But he has also been the subject of an October 2011 discrimination and harassment complaint by Montville Police Officer Karen Moorehead. 

hostility and sexual harassment, the latter pertaining to a Bunnell remark about Moorehead’s breasts. The investigation, by Montville Finance Director Terry Hart and attorney Hinda K. Kimmell, concluded that Bunnell’s behaviors toward Moorehead while “entirely inappropriate,” nonetheless “did not rise to the level to support a claim of sexual or workplace harassment.”

Moorehead’s Hartford-based attorney Andrew Houlding said he would have to defer comment until he sees the entire report, once Moorehead pays the town $250 to get it; $.25 per page, her attorney said, the report must run about 1,000 pages.

But given the investigation found his behavior was not illegal, this case would likely not be the subject of any disciplinary action.

Forced to retire?

Last week Bunnell said he was being forced to retire and identified Friday July 13 as the day he’d submit his retirement paperwork. But McDaniel said he “changed his mind and that’s why the town is proceeding with the disciplinary process,” McDaniel said.