By Meredith Crawford, Courier Associate
Editor:
Handling the matter
concerning embattled former East Haven Police Officer Bob Nappe has become a
near-daily affair in recent months, with the Board of Police Commissioners
(BOPC) maintaining a schedule that sometimes includes two meetings a week.
Meanwhile, disagreement over the very legality of these meetings continues
across party lines.
But, according to
Vice Chairman Fred Brow (D), the process of withdrawing the BOPC’s appeal of a
state Superior Court judge’s mandate that East Haven rehire Nappe, as well as a
lawsuit against the Town filed by the BOPC, is moving forward steadily. Brow
said he planned to announce his selection for the new BOPC attorney he was tasked
with finding to replace Larry Sgrignari, who resigned last month, at a special
meeting last Friday.
Brow has selected
Steven D. Ecker, a Hartford-based “Connecticut Super Lawyer” who specializes in
appellate litigation.
Brow secured $1,000
from the Board of Finance to “get things going,” he said. He estimates Ecker’s
services will cost between $175 and $195 per hour.
“We’re at step two
in about a four-step process. It’s a very procedural thing that we’re involved
in,” said Brow, adding that if the BOPC approves hiring Ecker, the attorney
would then file appearances on the board’s behalf in both of the aforementioned
legal matters.
When asked if Ecker
would subsequently withdraw both the appeal and the lawsuit, Brow said that it
was likely.
“That will probably
[be decided] at another meeting,” said Brow.
The BOPC–which now
has a Democratic majority of 3 to 2 after it was reconstituted following the
passing of Republican Vice Chairman Terry Pine–had previously voted across
party lines to withdraw the appeal. However, that was prior to Sgrignari’s
resignation.
Neither Republican
Commissioner Sandra Wright nor Chairman Pat Romano have attended the most
recent BOPC meetings. Romano, who is undergoing chemotherapy, said last Friday
that medical reasons would preclude him from attending the meeting that night.
“To be honest, I
wouldn’t have gone anyway,” said Romano.
Romano has
questioned the legality of a vice chairman’s calling special meetings like the
two last week, as well as a meeting held in early June, which he alleged was
improperly noticed. He filed a complaint regarding the June meeting with the
Freedom of Information Commission, but his grievance was dismissed “because…it
wasn’t in their province,” Romano said.
“I sent a letter [to
Brow] saying that I still consider [the meetings] not legal…If they do have a
meeting I strongly suggest that they get a ruling in writing from a town
attorney before they made any decisions.”
Both Brow and Romano
admitted that they could find no documentation that states only a board or
commission chairman can convene a special meeting. Romano said he’s consulting
an attorney about the matter and expects to have an answer later this week.
Nappe’s story began
in 2004, when he retired from the EHPD after the BOPC denied him a leave of
absence to pursue a voluntary, paid position training Iraqi police officers
while working for a contractor for the U.S. Department of State. Upon his
return, Nappe worked as a supernumerary officer for the EHPD but was fired for
neglect of duty.
Nappe’s situation
prompted the passage of a legislative bill spearheaded by state representatives
Mike Lawlor (D-East Haven) and Stephen Dargan (D-West Haven) that guarantees an
individual’s right to return to his or her job upon return from a peacekeeping
mission.
When asked earlier
this year if he would have gone to Iraq knowing the fallout he’s now
experiencing, Nappe replied, “I’d go back tomorrow.”