Marine District

DUI Arrest

On June 7, 2014 Officer O’Brien was on patrol at Hammonassett Beach campground. At approximately 2300 hours a male operator was seen doing a “burn out” with his vehicle in the camper’s parking lot. The vehicle was then seen driving recklessly through the campground toward one of the busy camp sites. A motor vehicle stop was made and standardized field sobriety tests were conducted on the 22 year old operator. The operator had a history of multiple DUI arrests and was charged with driving the wrong way on a one way street, driving under the influence and a camping infraction. The accused is scheduled to appear in New Haven Superior court later in the month.

Assault Arrest

On June 17, 2014 officers from the Marine district were dispatched to Hammonassett Beach for a report of a fight involving a knife. Officers from Madison as well as the State Police also responded to the area of Meig’s Point. Officers quickly identified the parties involved, and determined that no knives or edge weapons were used. EMS was dispatched to the scene to treat the injured. The fight consisted of two small groups who had exchanged words with each other over a remark made to a girl. One juvenile male and two adult males were arrested, each charged with breach of peace and assault in the third degree.

Fishing While Under Suspension

On June 20, 2014 Environmental Conservation (En Con) Police charged a Bristol resident for marine fisheries and motor vehicle violations. The arrest stemmed from a complaint concerning illegal fishing activity in Long Island Sound off of Waterford. It was determined that the subject's fishing privileges are currently under suspension until September 30, 2014, due to previous convictions for marine fisheries violations. EnCon Officers discovered a striped bass, scup and several bluefish contained in a cooler on the boat’s deck along with fishing equipment. They also found that the vessel was not legally registered, his motor vehicle operator’s license was suspended and the pickup truck he was operating had an expired registration.

The vessel and its contents were seized as evidence. During an inventory of the seized vessel, officers discovered an additional 20 bluefish, 6 Tautog (blackfish) and a striped bass in a hidden compartment under the deck. In addition, the outboard motor did not have any factory engine (serial) number.

The subject was charged with the following violations:
Fishing under a suspended license, Purchasing a license while existing license was under suspension, Illegal operation of an unregistered vessel, Operating an unregistered motor vehicle, Operating a vehicle while under suspension, Possession of over the creel limit of bluefish (20 counts), Possession of Tautog during closed season (6 counts), Possession of Tautog less than legal size limit (6 counts), Possession of striped bass less than legal size limit (1 count) and Possession of an outboard motor having a defaced factory or engine number. The subject was processed and released on a promise to appear with a scheduled court date of July 8, 2014, in New London Superior Court.

Boating Violation

On June 27,2014 officers from western marine sector where conducting boating safety patrols in New Haven Harbor, Long Island Sound area. During the patrol officers observed a vessel operator towing a passenger in a tube. There was no observer on board the vessel which is a violation of boating safety regulations. The operator was stopped and issues an infraction for the violation which is an $80.00 fine. The accused was also warned for not carrying a current Boating license.

Western District

Boating Accidents on Candlewood Lake

During the month of June, EnCon Police officers responded to three boating accidents with injuries on Candlewood Lake. The first accident involved a personal watercraft striking a wake and ejecting the operator who suffered a broken arm. The second accident involved a wakeboarder who suffered a broken Femur. The third accident involved a boat with only the operator on board striking the shoreline and ejecting the operator.
DUI warrant arrest

On June 18th, EnCon Police Officer Johnston responded to a complaint of illegal swimming activity at the Oxford Reservoir area of Naugatuck State Forest. Officer Johnston determined that one of the subjects swimming illegally had an outstanding arrest warrant for a previous DUI arrest. Officer Johnston took the subject into custody and transported him to the Connecticut State Police Troop I barracks in Bethany for execution of the arrest warrant.

Missing person search

On June 19th, EnCon Police officers responded to a request for assistance from the Connecticut State Police in searching for a missing 11 year old boy who had been riding his ATV on private property. EnCon Police officers searched the area by ATV for several hours until the missing youth was located. Unfortunately the youth had died of injuries sustained from an accident with his ATV.

Operation Drywater

On June 28th, EnCon Police officers provided boating safety patrols on Candlewood Lake for the annual fireworks display. After the fireworks concluded EnCon Police officers then participated in Operation Drywater, a nationwide boating under the influence enforcement operation. As a result of the Operation Drywater efforts, EnCon Police Officer Kiely made an arrest of an individual for boating under the influence and for operation of an unregistered vessel.

East District

Park and Forest

On June 8th 2014 Officer J. Williams and S.C.O. Cavanna received a call regarding a ‘smash and grab’ at Diana’s Pool Fishing Access Area in Chaplin, CT. The two worked on the case and after a lengthy investigation S.C.O. Cavanna was able to develop a suspect with the assistance of Sgt. Dwyer, an interview was conducted and a warrant for the arrest of the suspect is pending.
On June 29th 2014 Officer Reilly was on patrol in Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middlefield when she noticed a verbal dispute occurring. Upon further investigation she found that one of the people involved was in violation of several motor vehicle laws. Officer Reilly arrested one person for operating a motor vehicle while under suspension and operating a motor vehicle without insurance. The accused was released on a summons to appear in court on a later date.

On June 20th 2014 Officers Ruggiero and Reilly were dispatched to Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middlefield for a complaint of domestic violence. After investigating an arrest was made for Risk of Injury to a minor, Assault in the Third Degree, and Breach of Peace Second Degree. The accused was taken into custody and processed at Troop F in Westbrook and released on a $1500 bond.
Fishing Violation

On June 12th 2014 Officer Wojcik received a complaint from security personnel at the Occum Hydro Electric Dam on the Shetucket River in Norwich. He was advised that a bass style fishing boat had disregarded the “stay back” and “warning” signs and proceeded to fish his way right into the protected fish ladder. Upon arrival the suspect had left the area but Officer Wojcik checked area boat ramps and found the suspect by matching the descriptors provided by the security cameras. Initially the self claimed ‘professional angler’ told Officer Wojcik that it wasn’t him but later recanted and admitted to fishing the closed and protected area. Upon further investigation it was determined that the accused was not displaying his vessel registration numbers or registration decals. The subject was issued an infraction and a license null & void notification for the violations and was released at the scene.

Hunting

On June 15th 2014 Officer Vroman received a complaint of illegal raccoon trapping in Scantic River State Park. Upon investigation Officer Vroman was able to determine who had trapped the raccoon and later made an arrest for the violation. The accused was charged with trapping during the closed season and failure to check the trap within 24 hours.

Boating

District officers were very busy during the month of June addressing and taking action on numerous boating regulation violations at various water bodies within the Eastern part of the state.