Redding Argues Valenti Suicide Investigation Is Confidential

REDDING, CT — The town is trying to block the family of suicide victim Peter Valenti from gaining access to an investigation into his death, The News Times is reporting.

Valenti committed suicide in April 2016, and his family claims in a lawsuit that Redding police officers, including Chief Douglas Fuchs, who responded to the crime prevented paramedics from accessing Valenti for nearly a half-hour after arriving at his home. Valenti died in the hospital.

An attorney hired last fall by the town to determine whether police acted appropriately during the incident has submitted a draft of the report. Valenti’s estate is now seeking access to the draft, but the town is arguing the document is protected under attorney-client privilege.

Fuchs has been on paid administrative leave since October while the investigation and the lawsuit have been pending. The investigation is estimated to cost the town $150,000.

For more on the story, see The News Times.

File photo of Chief Douglas Fuchs by Christopher Capozziello, Stringer/Getty Images News/Getty Images