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(The Center Square) — The Connecticut State Police Union representing state troopers has taken a vote of “no confidence” in the police agency’s leadership amid their response to the controversy over a phony ticket scandal.
The union’s grievances are spelled out in a blistering letter to State Police Commissioner James Rovella and Deputy Commissioner Colonel Stavros Mellekas, accusing the duo of fostering “an environment of mistrust” in the organization that has “failed to protect their Troopers” and of making decisions “based on self-preservation,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“As a result, you both have lost all credibility and should resign from your positions of leadership before things get worse,” Todd Fedigan, the police union’s president, wrote. “How could anyone work for a Commissioner and Colonel who choose their own survival over standing up for due process and the good men and women that risk their lives for the State of Connecticut?”
The union emphasized comments made by the commissioner during a recent legislative hearing to discuss accusation that troopers may have issued hundreds of “fake” tickets over several years.
Fedigan said Rovella failed to “vigorously defend the good names of your troopers,” and the commissioner suggested state police personnel “have committed criminal conduct” and have “discriminatory ‘habits’ when interacting with the public.”
“Shamefully, you are both examples of political appointees who failed to protect their Troopers and made decisions based on self-preservation,” Fedigan asserted.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) hired former U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly to investigate allegations made by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project following an audit, accusing troopers of falsifying more than 25,000 traffic citations between 2014 and 2021, reported the Examiner.
In correspondence to the department’s hierarchy, Fedigan took aim at claims outlined in the investigation by finding fault with the police agency’s leadership for not “challenging the methodology” of the audit.
The union also voted no confidence against Rovella in 2020, showing the lack of harmony remains ongoing.
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Source: www.lawofficer.com