CT EnCon Police
Eastern District Highlights
May 2020

Assault on Officer
On the evening of 5/10/2020, Sergeant Dwyer received a complaint of a suspicious vehicle in Meshomasic State Forest, Portland / Glastonbury. He made contact with a lone male who initially gave false information, then fled the scene while Sgt. Dwyer was still holding on to the driver’s door. Sgt. Dwyer was dragged a short distance before letting go, receiving scratches and bruises for which he refused treatment. The five other officers on duty from across the state responded and assisted in attempting to locate the subject in the forest and environs, who was later identified as a 39 year old male with outstanding felony warrants, but not apprehended despite efforts by EnCon Police and Glastonbury, Manchester and South Windsor police. A warrant is being sought as the investigation continues.

Domestic Violence Arrest
In the evening of May 12, 2020, Officers Reilly, Diefenbach, Pettus, and Sergeants Dwyer and Logiodice responded along with Middletown and State Police to the parking lot at Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middletown, for a female reportedly assaulted by a 34 year old boyfriend; a two year old female child was also on scene. The male fled on foot but was apprehended by Middletown Police and turned over to EnCon Police; he was arrested for assault, breach of peace and risk of injury to a minor, processed at State Police Westbrook, and released on $5000 surety bond with a next day court date. The female was evaluated and released.

Public Safety Incidents / Medical Assists
On 5/16/20 Officer Flanagan responded to the Hop River Trail in the area of Bolton Notch State Park, Bolton, for a report of a 4 year old male hiking the trail with family, who was struck by a passing biker. The minor was transported to CT Children’s Medical Center with a leg fracture. EnCon Police concluded their investigation and determined it to be an accident.
On May 17th, 2020, Officers Heath, Waite, Curran and Sgt. Ulkus were dispatched to the Airline Trail in Lebanon for a report of a 44 year old male wielding a knife and causing a disturbance. The subject was located and the incident was not as reported; however, the individual was received a citation for possession of drugs / paraphernalia, and was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Willimantic police, transported to State Police in Colchester for processing, and later taken to Corrigan Correctional Center in Montville.

Midday on May 17th, Captain Lundin responded to Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middletown, along with emergency services, for a female suffering from possible diabetic complications along the trails. The victim was assisted to the parking area by EMS and later refused treatment. Hours later, also at Wadsworth, Officer Heath was called to assist services with a 19 year old male who suffered a broken leg at the falls; a second individual received injuries while trying to help the victim across the river. Both were transported by EMS to an area hospital for treatment.

DUI / BUI Arrests
On 5/17/20, Officer Landry and Captain Lundin responded to Haddam Meadows following a State Police report of a young female operating a vehicle in the park with a large vodka bottle in her hand and described as ‘heavily intoxicated.’ Officer Landry located a 21 year old female operating a vehicle near the boat launch apparently under the influence; the subject failed field sobriety tests, was arrested and transported to Westbrook State Police barracks and charged with Driving Under the Influence. She was released on $500 bond for a later court appearance; the vehicle was removed from the park.
While patrolling the Connecticut River on the evening of 5/31/20, Sgt. Stanko and Colonel Lewis encountered a lone male operating a small open motorboat through the no-wake zone at Haddam Meadows state launch. Upon stopping the vessel, it was determined the subject may be under the influence, and he ultimately failed field sobriety tests. He was transported to State Police, Westbrook, and arrested for Boating Under the Influence (BUI) and possession of marijuana, and was released for a later court appearance.

Trespass / Park Incidents
Officers Landry, Waite, and Sgt. Dwyer responded to Salmon River State Forest, East Hampton, on May 16, 2020, where they found eight (8) four-wheel drive vehicles on state hiking trails and adjacent private property, without permission of the private owner. The offenders were issued citations for trespassing and illegal use of trails; one passenger was wanted on two misdemeanor warrants, was arrested, processed at State Police Colchester, and released on $5000 bond.
On May 31st, 2020, Captain Lundin responded to a call for assistance from four hikers on a trail south of Green Fall Pond, Voluntown (Pachaug State Forest), where one member was having trouble negotiating the steeper terrain to get back to their vehicle and was suffering respiratory issues. Officers Flanagan and Landry responded with a vessel, and Voluntown Fire and EMS responded with a vessel and personnel. All assisted the 35 year old distressed female out of a low ravine to the Green Fall Pond dam, where the victim and friends were transported by vessel across the pond to the boat launch. The victim refused further treatment and all agencies cleared the incident.

Marine District Highlights
May 2020


On May 2, 2020 Captains Lundin and Williams were patrolling the CT River and observed two individuals paddling sit on top fishing kayaks without wearing required personal floatation devices. State law requires pfd’s to be worn on all manually propelled vessels from Oct. 1 – May 31 annually. Both individuals were struggling to paddle back to their vehicles against a strong outgoing tide and current as well as a north wind. When asked if they had pfd’s on board they both stated they left them at home. Water temps were in the mid 50’s. Both were escorted to shore and issued infractions for insufficient pfd’s.

On May 3, 2020 Officers Blackwell and Gerzabeck were patrolling the East River in Guilford and observed 4 individuals paddling kayaks without wearing the required personal floatation devices. State law requires pfd’s to be worn on all manually propelled vessels from Oct. 1 – May 31 annually. All individuals did have pfd’s in their vessels and were all issued written warnings for the violation.

On May 3, 2020 Officers Flis, Mazzotta and Diefenbach were patrolling the CT River in Old Lyme and observed a vessel violating the no-wake zone area between the bridges causing a large wake to jolt the opposing shoreline area of which include several marinas and vessel slips. The vessel was stopped and the operator was issued a written warning for the violation and explained that he is responsible for his wake and any damages that occur because of said wake.

On May 7, 2020 Officers Flis and Diefenbach observed an individual operating a jet ski on the Thames River near the State boat launch. The operator was not wearing a required pfd and had an expired registration. The operator also did not have his safe boating certificate on his person. When asked why he did not have his pfd the operator responded “I was just testing it out”. The operator was issued an infraction for failure to have a pfd and warned about the registration.

On May 10, 2020 Officer Erickson, Sgt. Chemacki and Captain Williams responded to Westerly Hospital for a report of a boating accident involving two individuals who were thrown from a jet ski. The investigation revealed that the owner/operator of the jet ski purchased the vessel from a salvage company in Pennsylvania. He and his friend launched from the Barn Island State boat launch in Stonington and made it two thirds of the way to Sandy Point when the motor died possibly from an erratic maneuver and the vessel started taking on water. The two individuals bailed off the boat and were able to swim approximately 200 yards to shore. From there they were picked up by Westerly Fire and transported to Westerly Hospital where they were treated for minor hypothermia and released.

On May 11, 2020 Officer Dota and Sgt. Stone responded to Silver Sands State Park for a report of 4 individuals keeping over the daily limit of striped bass and under the minimum length limit of striped bass. The daily creel limit for striped bass is 1 fish. The new slot limit for striped bass for legal possession is between 28-35 inches, therefore anything under 28” and anything over 35” must be returned to the water. Officer Dota confronted the individuals who stated they had several striped bass in a blue cooler. Officer Dota opened the cooler and observed 6 short striped bass ranging from 10 – 26 inches in length. All of the fish were still alive and returned to the water. The individuals were issued written warnings for the violations.

Officers Flis and Diefenbach were patrolling Long Island Sound by vessel in the vicinity of the Four Mile River and observed several lobster pot buoys without the current year lobster tag. Upon pulling said pots, it was also determined that the escape vents were ¼ inch short of the required 2 inch height requirement. The pots were seized and the owner was contacted and issued a written warning for the violations.

Officers Blackwell and Gerzabeck were conducting fishing enforcement on the CT River at the Baldwin State Boat launch and observed 4 individuals fishing from a vessel coming into the launch. Upon inspection, the individuals claimed there were no fish on board and that all had fishing licenses. Both Officers noticed a clear plastic bag that contained several fish in it of which the fisherman stated they were bunker. Further inspection revealed several short striped bass were in the plastic bag the largest measuring 22.5 inches. The legal limit for striped bass is between 28-35 inches. Three of the individuals did not possess fishing licenses. The fish were seized and donated to “A Place Called Hope”. The three individuals w/o licenses were issued infractions for fishing w/o a license.


On May 14, 2020 Officer Mihalyak was patrolling the shoreline area in West Haven and noticed several people shellfishing in a closed area. Officer Mihalyak observed one individual with a bucket full of clams who was identified and did not have a shellfishing permit. He was issued an infraction for the violation and the clams were returned to the water.

Officers Mihalyak and Hey responded to Rocky Beach in West Haven after receiving a report from a commercial shellfisherman that several people were harvesting oysters illegally. Officer Mihalyak was observing the individuals from his patrol vehicle and observed several individuals run back to the parking lot as Officer Hey was approaching them on the beach. One of the individuals attempted to hide the oysters in a trash can in the parking lot and return to his vehicle. Officer Mihalyak confronted the individual and asked him if he was shellfishing to which the individual replied “no”. Officer Mihalyak took the individual to the trash can and removed the oysters relating to the individual he saw him put them there. The individual was issued an infraction for the violation. The oysters were returned to the water.

Officers Blackwell and Gerzabeck were patrolling the CT River at the Baldwin State Boat Launch and observed an individual operating a jet ski approximately ½ hour past sunset. Due to jet skis not having navigation lights it is prohibited for their operation past sunset. The individual was advised of the law and issued a written warning for the violation.

On May 16, 2020 Officers Blackwell and Gerzabeck along with Captain Williams and Major Newman were conducting boating enforcement on the CT River on Old Saybrook and observed two vessels violating the no wake zone in front of Harbor One. One vessel operator was warned in the fall of 2019 violating the same wake zone and was operating a 20 foot center console. The other operator was in a 54 foot cabin cruiser leaving a 3 foot wake going past Harbor One. Each were issued infractions for violating the no wake zone.

On May 17, 2020 Officer Dota and Captain Williams were patrolling the CT River in Old Saybrook and observed an individual violating the no wake zone between the bridges leaving a sizeable wake. Multiple marinas exist in this area and wake zone violations are a common issue. The operator was issued an infraction for the violation.

On May 18, 2020 Officer Erickson was watching several individuals fishing at the boardwalk at the EnCon Police Marine District Headquarters and observed one individual catch and keep a short striped bass and put it into a blue cooler. As the individual packed up and began to leave Officer Erickson approached and asked the individual how his fishing trip was. The individual stated he had caught one striped bass. Officer Erickson was able to check the cooler finding one undersized striped bass measuring 21.75 inches. The legal striped bass size limit is 1 fish between 28-35 inches. The individual was advised of the regulation and issued a written warning for the violation. The fish was donated to A Place Called Hope.

On May 21, 2020 Officers Gerzabeck and Blackwell were conducting boating enforcement on the CT River at the Baldwin Bridge and observed a vessel coming into the ramp at approximately 9:11PM without the required navigation lights on after sunset. Sunset was at 8:10 PM. Upon conducting a safety inspection, it was determined that the vessel didn’t even have navigation lights on board. The operator/owner was issued an infraction or failure to have navigation lights.

On May 24, 2020 Officer Blackwell observed two women actively taking blue crabs at Hammonasset State Park and putting them into a small bucket. When approached both women stated that they had not caught any legal sized blue crabs and had been fighting off turtles that were trying to take their bait. Officer Blackwell questioned what was in the bucket and identified 10 blue crabs that were clearly less than the minimum length of 5 inches. Each were issued an infraction for illegal possession of blue crabs. The crabs were released back into the water.

Officer Blackwell observed two individuals fishing from Meigs Point at Hammonasset State Park and put what appeared to be a short fluke into a blue cooler. Upon checking for fishing licenses and the cooler, it was determined that one individual did not have a fishing license and the fluke was measured to be 17 inches, 2 inches short of the 19 inch length requirement. Each were issued infractions, one for fishing w/o a license and the other for possession of a short fluke.

Officers Blackwell and Dota observed 5 individuals arriving by vessel at the Guilford town docks sorting and filleting fish on the vessel. Upon conducting a fishing compliance check, each individual stated that they had caught their 5 fish limit of black sea bass. The operator of the vessel also stated that there were only 25 black sea bass on board his vessel. Each individual was asked to produce a fishing license of which two did not have. Officer Dota counted each fish totaling 27 black sea bass. All fish associated with the two individuals not having fishing licenses were seized as well as the two fish that were over the limit on the other two anglers totaling 12. Infractions were issued for fishing w/o a license and possession of black sea bass over the daily limit. Afterwards the operator of the vessel advised Officer Blackwell that he told the two fishermen w/o licenses that they needed them before getting on the boat and they chose not to get them.

Also on May 24, 2020 EnCon Officers issued 3 written warnings for wake zone violations on the CT River between the bridges.

May 25, Officer Blackwell and Colonel Lewis were patrolling the Lieutenant River and observed a small vessel occupied with 5 people in it. A vessel safety check was conducted and it was determined that there were only 4 pfd’s in the vessel. State boating laws require a pfd to be on board every vessel for every person on board. An infraction was issued to the operator and the voyage was terminated. A short while later Officer Blackwell and Colonel Lewis were at the Baldwin Boat Launch and observed a vessel underway with 5 people on board approaching the dock. A safety inspection was conducted. Four out of the five people were intoxicated, the operator was sober. The operator was asked to provide 5 pfd’s of which he only could provide 4. The operator was issued an infraction for insufficient and explained about the dangers of not having adequate pfd’s with intoxicated individuals on board his vessel.

1 infraction for wake zone violation issued. CT River

Numerous citations for short striped bass and over the daily creel limit.


Western District
PARKS:

With the declaration of a state of emergency announced due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the state, officers patrol activity drastically increased, and continues to do so as the weather warms, in relation to the state parks. Officers were assigned and/or patrolled daily at state parks and enforced and educated patrons on the restrictions set forth in the Governor’s Executive Order.

BOATING:
On May 13th, 2020 Officers Torres, Kiely and Sgt. Buckley along with the Southbury and Newtown Fire Departments responded to capsized canoe on Lake Zoar in the Town of Southbury. The victim was recovered and transported to Danbury Hospital with minor non-life-threatening injuries. It was later determined that the vessel was swamped by another passing vessel. The victim was wearing a Personal Floatation Device when the vessel capsized. No boating safety violations were discovered.
On May 24th, 2020 Officers Fergason, Kiely, Torres and Sgt. Johnston responded to Candlewood Lake in the area of Blueberry Island in the town of New Fairfield for a report of a capsized vessel. A good Samaritan’s vessel recovered 2 uninjured occupants of the vessel and towed the involved vessel back to Lattins Cove State Boat Launch. It was determined the cause of the capsize was due to unequal weight distribution in the small vessel. All occupants of the capsized vessel declined medical treatment. A safety check of the vessel was conducted where it was determined it was unregistered and there was no sound producing device aboard. The operator was issued a written warning for CGS 15-144(h) Illegal Operation of Vessel without Number Registration (1st offense) and CGS 15-129(a)(6) Failure to Comply with Federal Requirements Regarding Sound Signal Appliances Applicable to the Vessel.
EXOTIC ANIMAL POSSESSION:
On May 11th, 2020 Off. Norton and Jacquo received a complaint of a person in possession of a possibly abused Nile Monitor Lizard. A search warrant was completed, signed and executed on 5/13/20. Investigation led the discovery of a Nile Monitor Lizard that was being possessed by an individual who was not authorized to possess such an animal. The animal could not be rehabilitated and unfortunately had to be put down. An arrest warrant is being submitted for the suspect for Illegal Possession of an Illegal Species CGS 26-55-6(b)(3) and Cruelty to Animals 53-247(a).
NUISANCE BEAR:
Western District officers responded to twenty-six (26) nuisance bear complaints during the month.
K-9 CALLS FOR SERVICE:
During the month of May Off. Flockhart and K-9 Ellie were dispatched to assist with evidence recovery in Litchfield for an illegal hunting complaint and located key evidence. They were also dispatched to another trespass/illegal hunting complaint and the hunter came out of the woods as they were preparing to conduct their track.
Sgt. Logiodice and K-9 Ruger were dispatched to a domestic violence call in the Southeast, where the male party fled on foot. The male was located prior to their arrival.