Board of Police Commissioners

REGULAR MEETING WEST HAVEN BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS November 1, 2016 The regular meeting of the West Haven Board of Police Commissioner was held on Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 7:00PM at the Police Headquarters, 200 Saw Mill Rd. West Haven Present were Commissioner Raymond Collins, Paul Butler, Jr., Keith Sweeney and Deborah Wright. Also present were Chief John Karajanis, Jr. and Deputy Chief Joseph Perno. Absent were Commissioner Andrew Giaquinto and Dave Russell, City Liaison. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Chairperson Collins called the meeting to order at 7:00PM 1. Minutes of October 18, 2016 Commissioner Wright’s first name was spelled wrong. That was corrected. A motion was presented by Chairperson Collins to accept the Minutes of October 18, 2016. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wright and approved unanimously. 2. Public Input Chairperson Collins opened public session at 7:01. No one from the public came forth thus closing the public session at 7:01. 3. Communication 3.1 Monthly Overtime Report –September 2016 3.2 Letter of Appreciation – Det. Casman & Det. Suraci – Frank P. Cappiello Chief of Police Woodbridge PD 3.3 Letter of Appreciation – WHPD – Tony Catapano 3.4 Letter of Appreciation – WHPD – The Recchia Family 4. Report of the Chief Chief Karajanis stated that he went in front of the city council (Commissioner Sweeney was there too), in order to explain to the council the potential situation that they could be confronting in the coming month, for the request for two additional officers to attend the academy. Prior to the meeting Chief Karajanis spoke to Kevin about the additional officer to which Kevin said that if the $50,000 were found for two additional officers to go the academy, that that money had to come out of the police budget. Karajanis told Kevin that they itemized their budget, and so he does not know where the $50,000 is going to come from. Karajanis also told Kevin that when they have to allocate $50,000 to the account where they combine the three line items that were shorted and the additional $5,000 for the firearms account, and those have to be adjusted at some point during the year. During the meeting Chief Karajanis presented the issue and made sure the council was aware of the circumstances. Chief Karajanis said that the Council is going to discuss it, and hopefully we have something further to be able to determine how we are going to move forward with that. Chief Karajanis had a meeting with the attorneys that were hired from the city, Ryan & Ryan regarding officer Gonce. Officer Gonce had filed a CHRO complaint against the department. So Chief Karajanis had to bring together Captain DiMeola, and retired Captain Giuliano, and Sergeant Hancock, to meet with the attorneys, so they can formulate a response to the CHRO. Then Chief Karajanis had a follow-up meeting with Ryan & Ryan, at their headquarters, in New Haven. Chief Karajanis reviewed the statement, signed it and sent it to CHRO. Then he had a meeting with Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson came before the board and he alleged a false arrest in 2010 and he was in fear for his daughter and granddaughter. Chief Karajanis reviewed all of the reports and came to this board with his findings. Chief Karajanis said that he finally had the opportunity to sit down with the Mr. Robinson. Commissioner Wright was present. Mr. Robinson thanked the board for looking into the matter, regardless of the outcome. Chief Karajanis reported to him the same decision that he related to the board and it was not what he wanted, but he accepted it and understood the decision without further issue. Chief Karajanis met for a meeting with Beth Sabo, Officer Gonce, and Detective Sean Faughnan regarding the final stage of Officer Gonce’s discipline. That is now in the hand of Human Resources department and Beth Sabo will issue an opinion on that, which will determine whether or not it moves forward. Chief Karajanis also updated the board on the purchase of police vehicles. Chief Karajanis spoke to Sergeant Ciccosanti about the cars and Sergeant Ciccosanti indicated that the four cars have arrived at Shakers Fort, and they are just waiting on the fifth, which should arrive tomorrow. Sergeant Ciccosanti confirmed that he is going to pick them up tomorrow. Chief Karajanis then went onto talk about the MRAP. He said that they did come before the board a while ago regarding the MRAP, and they were looking for the board to authorize the department to be able to acquire an MRAP, which is the military armored vehicle. They actually came up for it and scheduled to go get it, but after Detective Pirolo looked into it, he found that they would be cost prohibited, they have a lot of issues, a lot of equipment would need replacing, which could cost tens of thousands of dollars. In place of that, Detective Pirolo proposed the M1078 (cargo truck), a more versatile vehicle than the MRAP. These vehicles were used to transport people during the floods in the Carolina states. They can forge up to five feet of water without a problem, being a shoreline community, it is a greater asset to city. If the board agrees to it, Chief Karajanis will have Pirolo put in the request. Chief Karajanis spoke with Sergeant Tammaro of the Public relation unit and found out that between the public relations unit and the Knights of Columbus, 68 coats were given out to children. Commissioner Sweeney presented a motion to put the acquiring of the M1078 standard cargo truck on the agenda. Commissioner Butler seconded the Motion, and the motion was unanimously approved. 5. Old Business None 6. New Business 6.1 Acquiring the M1078 standard cargo truck Commissioner Sweeney presented a motion to acquire the M1078 standard cargo truck. Commissioner Butler seconded the Motion, and the motion was unanimously approved. 7. Pension Board Commissioner Wright informed the Board that Dave Moran will be at the next meeting. 8. Report of Committees – Personal Committee None 9. Commissioner Reports Commissioner Sweeney: I want to thank Chief Karajanis for a quick response to my request for a policy for flooding in prone areas and I also want to thank Deputy Chief Perno for his excellent job in presentation at the Elks Club. 10. Executive Session None Adjourn: 7:12pm Minutes Recorded by: M. Sumra