Windsor Locks Police Commission Approves Settlement Agreement with Former Sergeant Robert Koistinen

The Windsor Locks Police Commission approved a $460,000 settlement with former Sergeant Robert Koistinen, who was acquitted in 2012 of hindering the drunken driving investigation of his son in which a 15-year-old was killed in a crash while riding his bike in 2010, to end his labor dispute with the town, according to the Hartford Courant.

The Courant reports that the settlement agreement must be approved by the Board of Finance before going to a town meeting for approval next week.

Koistinen’s son, Michael Koistinen (a former Windsor Locks officer) is currently serving a 64-month sentence at the MacDougall Walker Correctional Center after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Henry Dang. Michael Koistinen’s vehicle struck Dang while he was riding his bike home in October of 2010, according to the Courant. Robert Koistinen was the senior officer on duty when the accident occurred.

Dang’s family received $420,000 after settling two lawsuits against the town of Windsor Locks and the Suffield bar where Michael Koistinen had been drinking before the accident, according to the Courant.

If the settlement agreement is approved at the town meeting, Robert Koistinen will receive nearly $265,000 in back pay that the town owes him and $195,000 to drop his labor complaint against the town, according to the Courant.

Police Commission Chairman Michael Royston told the Courant that if the settlement is not approved at the town meeting, Robert Koistinen will immediately be reinstated to the police department and become the fourth-highest ranking officer and the town would still owe him the back pay.

Read the full story at the Hartford Courant here.