2 Norwalk Police Officers Were Drinking Before Arrest: Warrant

NORWALK, CT — The two Norwalk police officers arrested on warrants Tuesday after supervisors found them in a hotel room in October had been drinking and blowing off police calls before they were discovered, according to authorities.

Veteran officers Michael Dimeglio and Sara Laudano were charged with second-degree larceny and second-degree reckless endangerment; Laudano was also charged with risk of injury to a minor.

The two have a history together as Dimeglio is the father of Laudano's child, according to Jennifer Cruver, a friend of Laudano's who was interviewed by police.

According to their arrest warrants, the two officers worked the 4 p.m. to midnight evening shift on Oct. 9 and accepted overtime assignments to continue working Oct. 10 from midnight to 4 a.m. due to staffing shortages.

At about 12:45 a.m., a dispatcher tried to reach Laudano on her police radio and phone but couldn't, according to the warrant. The department tracked her down through a locater device in her squad car and discovered the vehicle was at the Even Hotel on Main Avenue, according to the warrant.

Another officer went to the hotel and spotted squad cars belonging to Laudano and Dimeglio in the parking lot, according to the warrant.

Laudano and Dimeglio checked into the hotel under Dimeglio's name; he had made a reservation online for a room, according to the warrant.

At about 1 a.m., Sergeants Jeffrey Proudfoot and Garrett Kruger went to the hotel and found an empty six-pack container of Blue Point Brewing Mother Pumpkin Ale beer in Laudano's vehicle and a four-pack plastic container "commonly used to hold four packs of IPA beers," according to the warrant. The sergeants said they found Laudano's bulletproof vest carrier and body camera on the vehicle's dashboard.

The sergeants went into the hotel and learned the two officers were in Room 302; they then recognized Dimeglio's voice asking who was there when they knocked on the door, according to the warrant.

"Sergeant Proudfoot identified himself and after about a minute or two of no one coming to the door, he knocked again," the warrant states. "Officer Dimeglio asked again who was at the door. Sergeant Proudfoot identified himself again and told Officer Dimeglio to stop playing games and open the door."

Dimeglio opened the door, and the sergeants said Dimeglio's uniform shirt was untucked, he was barefoot, and he was not wearing his duty belt.

When confronted, Dimeglio asked "Did I miss a call?" according to the warrant. Laudano was in the bathroom at the time, according to the warrant. The two were then ordered to get dressed and return to Norwalk police headquarters, which they did.

The two officers checked into the hotel just after 11 p.m. and were seen on surveillance video walking to the room, according to the warrant. Both were in full police uniform; Dimeglio wearing a face mask due to coronavirus protocols, but Laudano, who was seen holding a brown paper bag, was not wearing one, according to the warrant.

Norwalk police said they discovered evidence that Laudano's vehicle was parked behind High Road School on North Avenue for "a considerable amount of time" that evening. Police later found empty beer cans and bottles, including some Blue Point Brewing Mother Pumpkin Ales, according to the warrant.

That evening, Laudano was tracked to a CVS on Main Avenue, where she bought hair care products, and to the Budget Liquor Store on West Avenue, according to the warrant. Cruver, who was visiting from Brewerton, New York, purchased the beer and rode with Laudano in her police vehicle to buy it, according to the warrant.

Before their shifts, Laudano and Dimeglio had a late lunch with Cruver and Laudano's baby, whom Cruver was babysitting, at Donovan's on Washington Street, where they had some beers and peanut butter shots, according to the warrant. After their shift started, they drank more beers in the parking lot at Norwalk Police Department headquarters on Monroe Street, according to the warrant. At one point, Laudano took a drag on a marijuana vape pen she had with her, police said.

Cruver, who was taking care of the baby, rode with Laudano to the liquor store with the baby in a car seat in the back, according to the warrant. The department prohibits civilians to ride in police vehicles in unofficial capacities.

Laudano took Cruver and the baby to Sedona Taphouse, where she dropped Cruver and the baby with Laudano's wife, according to the warrant.

Cruver met up again with Laudano and Dimeglio at the school parking lot, where they drank more beer, according to the warrant. Laudano said she didn't want to go home and Dimeglio decided to get the room at the hotel, according to the warrant.

The investigation into the two officers involved interviews with other members of the department; interviews with hotel, store and restaurant employees; studying surveillance footage; collecting DNA evidence from the two officers and empty beer bottles; and other measures.

Police said during the shift, Laudano and Dimeglio did not respond to some calls for service, which is where the larceny charges come in. Essentially, they are accused of receiving hundreds of dollars in pay during their shift while they were drinking and not working.

They did, however, separately respond to some calls after they had been drinking, potentially placing themselves or others in danger, which is how the reckless endangerment charges tie in, according to authorities.

The risk of injury charge for Laudano stems from her driving the child around while she was drinking, according to the warrant.

Both officers are on administrative leave and are free on bond. They are scheduled to appear in court Feb. 16.