By Harlan Levy
Journal Inquirer
WINDSOR LOCKS — The process of considering disciplinary action for police Sgt. Robert Koistinen has finally begun, town labor lawyer Kevin Deneen told the Police Commission on Wednesday.
Koistinen has been informed that Acting Police Chief Chester DeGray is considering disciplining him for his actions Oct. 29, 2010, after his son, former officer Michael Koistinen, was involved in an accident in which 15-year-old bicyclist Henry Dang was killed, Deneen said. That’s the first step in the process.
Koistinen now has the right to request a meeting to present his side of the story before DeGray decides whether discipline is in order.
DeGray is expected to make a recommendation to the commission by the end of the month, Deneen said.
Sgt. Koistinen was one of the first officers to arrive and was in charge of the scene when he twice left, first to go to the police station to find the regional accident investigation team’s phone number, and then to get traffic controls. An independent report on the accident said Koistinen abandoned his responsibility, and his son could have been tested for drunken driving.
“There are obviously issues in the report that can merit discipline,” Deneen said. “Prior to imposing any discipline we’re required to give him an opportunity to explain his view of the event and his response to it.”
Michael Koistinen was fired in December and faces negligent homicide charges. He is seeking to get his job back. His father faces criminal charges of hindering prosecution and interfering with the investigation. He has been on administrative leave with pay since the crash, drawing his nearly $74,000 salary.
Search for police chief
In other action, the commission added two items to the list of requirements for applicants for the vacant police chief’s job — a salary range of $90,000 to $110,000 to match the market and residency within a 20-mile radius of the Safety Complex within six months of getting the job.
“You want the chief to be available in case of emergency on a relatively quick basis,” Cunningham said.
Newly elected commission member Kevin Brace suggested providing a 5 percent to 10 percent stipend if the new chief moves into town, an incentive that the commissioner members said they will consider.
“It invokes more of a sense of community,” Brace said. “Also, there are things that go on in town that only residents know of, and if you work here, why not live here?”
Requirements previously set include having a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement, criminal justice, or business administration or equivalent experience; a minimum of 10 years’ supervisory experience while ranked at least as a sergeant; and a record of preparing budgets.
The commission also voted to add a non-voting town police officer to the panel that will question applicants. The panel consists of two police chiefs from other towns, two police commission members, one of the three selectmen, and a representative of the town human resources department.
Adding a non-voting officer “gives us access to the experience of officers who are on the road every day and what the attributes are that he or she looks for in a chief,” Cunningham said.
After the initial interviews, the panel will select three finalists, whom the Police Commission will interview and make a final selection. An offer will follow, dependent on positive results from a psychological exam, a background check, and a lie detector test.
Ads for the chief’s job should be in print and online by the end of the month, Cunningham said.
The Police Commission, acting as the town’s Traffic Commission, also voted to put up school-zone signs on the street at each end of the middle school, South Elementary School, and high school stating that the speed limit is 25 mph when children are present. The North Street School already has such a sign.
Resident Mary Campbell, who lives on Center Street across from the middle school, prompted the board’s move after complaining for more than two years about frequent speeding by motorcycles and cars.
“We need to do something,” Campbell told the commission Wednesday. Police Officer Sebastian Garofalo also supported adding new signs.
The middle school crossing guard “is afraid to go into the crosswalk because the cars are barreling down the hill both ways,” Garofalo said.
Also acting as the town Traffic Commission, the board voted to recommend to the State Traffic Commission that truck traffic be banned from traveling from one end to the other of South Center and Center streets (the same street, which changes names). A petition filed in August sought the ban in the residential neighborhood. If the state board goes along, a town meeting would have to approve a truck-ban ordinance.
Koistinen has been informed that Acting Police Chief Chester DeGray is considering disciplining him for his actions Oct. 29, 2010, after his son, former officer Michael Koistinen, was involved in an accident in which 15-year-old bicyclist Henry Dang was killed, Deneen said. That’s the first step in the process.
Koistinen now has the right to request a meeting to present his side of the story before DeGray decides whether discipline is in order.
DeGray is expected to make a recommendation to the commission by the end of the month, Deneen said.
“There are obviously issues in the report that can merit discipline,” Deneen said. “Prior to imposing any discipline we’re required to give him an opportunity to explain his view of the event and his response to it.”
Michael Koistinen was fired in December and faces negligent homicide charges. He is seeking to get his job back. His father faces criminal charges of hindering prosecution and interfering with the investigation. He has been on administrative leave with pay since the crash, drawing his nearly $74,000 salary.
Search for police chief
In other action, the commission added two items to the list of requirements for applicants for the vacant police chief’s job — a salary range of $90,000 to $110,000 to match the market and residency within a 20-mile radius of the Safety Complex within six months of getting the job.
“You want the chief to be available in case of emergency on a relatively quick basis,” Cunningham said.
Newly elected commission member Kevin Brace suggested providing a 5 percent to 10 percent stipend if the new chief moves into town, an incentive that the commissioner members said they will consider.
“It invokes more of a sense of community,” Brace said. “Also, there are things that go on in town that only residents know of, and if you work here, why not live here?”
Requirements previously set include having a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement, criminal justice, or business administration or equivalent experience; a minimum of 10 years’ supervisory experience while ranked at least as a sergeant; and a record of preparing budgets.
The commission also voted to add a non-voting town police officer to the panel that will question applicants. The panel consists of two police chiefs from other towns, two police commission members, one of the three selectmen, and a representative of the town human resources department.
Adding a non-voting officer “gives us access to the experience of officers who are on the road every day and what the attributes are that he or she looks for in a chief,” Cunningham said.
After the initial interviews, the panel will select three finalists, whom the Police Commission will interview and make a final selection. An offer will follow, dependent on positive results from a psychological exam, a background check, and a lie detector test.
Ads for the chief’s job should be in print and online by the end of the month, Cunningham said.
The Police Commission, acting as the town’s Traffic Commission, also voted to put up school-zone signs on the street at each end of the middle school, South Elementary School, and high school stating that the speed limit is 25 mph when children are present. The North Street School already has such a sign.
Resident Mary Campbell, who lives on Center Street across from the middle school, prompted the board’s move after complaining for more than two years about frequent speeding by motorcycles and cars.
“We need to do something,” Campbell told the commission Wednesday. Police Officer Sebastian Garofalo also supported adding new signs.
The middle school crossing guard “is afraid to go into the crosswalk because the cars are barreling down the hill both ways,” Garofalo said.
Also acting as the town Traffic Commission, the board voted to recommend to the State Traffic Commission that truck traffic be banned from traveling from one end to the other of South Center and Center streets (the same street, which changes names). A petition filed in August sought the ban in the residential neighborhood. If the state board goes along, a town meeting would have to approve a truck-ban ordinance.
do none of the 3 applicants live in town, what if they chose not to live here and do townspeople have any say on the vote of the chief
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