Marine District

Stolen Kayaks

On August 9, 2014 officers responded to a report of missing or stolen kayaks. Two park patrons had parked in the Nature Center parking lot at Hammonasset Beach State Park with two kayaks secured to the roof of their vehicle. When they returned to their vehicle several hours later both were gone with only the straps left hanging off of the roof. Officers were notified by park staff that they observed a car with a kayak on top leaving the area. Officers stopped the vehicle and noticed the kayak matched the description of the one stolen and it was loosely secured to the car. The occupants of the car (both from Massachusetts) stated they owned the kayak and then said they found it. The owner of the stolen kayak identified the vessel and one of the straps as his property. The other kayak is believed to have been placed on another vehicle which was not located.
Both occupants of the vehicle were charged with Larceny fourth degree and are scheduled to appear in New Haven Superior court later in the month.

Boat Accident

On August 16, 2014 officers were on patrol in Long Island Sound in the area of Old Lyme. They were notified by a boater that an accident had just occurred and both vessels required assistance. Officers were able to assist both boaters and quickly determined the cause. A twenty foot center console vessel was traveling west near Hatchet’s Point at approximately 15 knots. The operator was not paying attention and struck the bow of a smaller thirteen foot aluminum vessel whose occupants were fishing. The collision caused minor damage to both vessels and no injuries were reported. The operator of the center console vessel was charged with failing to maintain a proper lookout.

Domestic Assault

On August 30, 2014 officers responded to the Hammonasset Beach Campground for a report of a man dragging a young child across the ground by his feet. Several other campers observed the father allegedly drag his small child by his feet and were concerned for the child’s safety. During the investigation officers rendered first aid to the child and provided an ambulance as a precaution. The ten year old child had multiple abrasions and contusions on his back from being dragged. Officers conducted a thorough investigation and arrested the father for Assault 3rd Degree and Risk of Injury to a Minor. The accused was scheduled to appear in New Haven Superior Court. Due to the fact that the family was from New York State the case was also referred to the Nassau (NY) County Child Protective Division.


East District

Park and Forest

On August 6th 2014 Officer Wojcik and Sgt. Wolfe received notification through the Emergency Dispatch Center that a 68 year old male had fallen at Hopeville Pond State Park and received a head injury during his fall. Upon arrival the victim had been taken to Backus Hospital for his injuries and previous medical conditions, however, even with the timely response from ambulance personnel and the Connecticut State Police, the subject was pronounced dead at the hospital. The investigation is ongoing.
On August 8th 2014 Officer Scatena was dispatched to a complaint of litter dumped in Quaddick State Park. Upon arrival she searched the litter and found information leading to a possible suspect. Upon making contact with the suspect she obtained admission that the garbage was his. The suspect was issued an infraction for the violation.

On the night of August 8th 2014 Officer Lindo was checking the State Parks in his patrol and due to previous issues at Hurd State Park he pulled in to conduct a patrol check. He noticed a large number of vehicles and an excess of 75 people having a party. He immediately called for other area officers to assist due to the large number of people involved. While waiting for backup the party realized there was a police presence and scattered into the surrounding woods in an attempt to evade apprehension. At that time K-9 officers Bernier and Reilly with their dogs Saydee and Hunter were called in to assist in the search. Officers Stanko and Reilly saw a vehicle that appeared to be there to pick up partygoers and upon talking to the operator they determined he was under the influence of alcohol/drugs. The suspect was then placed under arrest. While en route to Troop K to test the subject Officer Reilly noticed another vehicle that had arrived to pick up more partygoers. Several subjects then ran from that vehicle but she was able to stop the operator. The motor vehicle stop resulted in narcotics within the vehicle. That suspect was also taken into custody and transported to Troop K for processing. In all, numerous infractions were issued for multiple violations in addition to custodial arrests. Numerous vehicles were also towed from the scene that had been abandoned.

On the morning of August 15th 2014 Officers Golet, Lindo, Ruggiero and Crossman with K-9 Ellie Mae responded to Salmon River State Forest near the Comstock Bridge for a report from a mother who lost her three children. Officer Golet arrived as the call was coming in to the Emergency Dispatch Center and was able to get a description of the lost kids to responding officers who assisted in the search. Officer Lindo entered the forest and after a short search located the children. The children were unhurt and unaffected by being lost for a short period of time. Officer Lindo escorted the kids out of the forest to the waiting and nervous mother.

On August 30th 2014 at approximately 3:00 AM Officer Arsenault responded to a complaint of people playing drums and being loud at Hopeville Pond State Park. Upon arrival the area was quiet. The following morning he received several more complaints of noise, alcohol violations, and pet violations regarding two specific campsites and once again responded to the campground. This time when he arrived he immediately found one person in violation of the alcohol ban and after making contact with that individual determined that there was a very large party of people travelling together and occupying numerous campsites. The entire group was uncooperative and attempted to deceive Officer Arsenault while interfering with his investigation. The group, later determined to be a loose group claiming sovereign citizenship, continued to be actively aggressive toward Officer Arsenault. At this time Officer Arsenault requested back up officers and a supervisor to respond and assist. Several people from the group were videotaping the incident as it was unfolding and many of the people involved were making every attempt possible to draw Officer Arsenault into verbal arguments and generally being uncooperative. Officers Reilly and Scatena were the firs responding officers on scene and with Officer Arsenault they ended up taking one of the subjects into custody. Sergeants Lundin and Dwyer also responded which resulted with arrests and evictions of all the subjects involved. Numerous infractions were issued and vehicles were also towed from the scene. One of the subjects was unable to make bond for his release from custody and was held overnight and released the next day.

Boating

On August 14th 2014 Officer Ruggiero responded to a call he overheard from CSP, Troop K, relating to a boat fully engulfed in flames on the Connecticut River just North of the Swing Bridge in East Haddam. Officers Ruggiero and Golet responded and found that the 22’ vessel was a complete loss. They were able to speak with the operator and passenger of the vessel and determined that there were no other occupants on board. The incident is currently under investigated.

Wildlife

On the evening of August 30th 2014 a Bozrah woman was attacked and injured by a Bobcat at her home near the Lebanon town line. Her husband and children also had contact with the Bobcat while they attempted to remove the wild cat off of her. Officers Arsenault, Lindo and Reilly responded to the scene but the bobcat had already escaped back into the woods. The victim was taken to Backus Hospital for treatment and ultimately the entire family was treated for rabies. The following day Officers Reilly, Lindo, J. Williams, Stanko, S.C.O. Cavanna, and Sgt. Dwyer once again searched the area with no results. After several hours Officer Stanko and S.C.O. Cavanna located the cat and euthanized it in the Town of Lebanon. This was done after receiving another call regarding the cat attempting to attack a third family that had been hiking with a new born baby. The cat’s carcass was then taken to the Health Lab for testing and its results showed positive for rabies.

West District

Illegal swimming causes injury

On August 8th EnCon Police Officer Patrick Kiely was dispatched to Indian Well State Park for the report of an injured hiker located near the "Waterfall" also known as the "Well" portion of the
park.

Upon arrival, Officer Kiely observed an individual being brought out the waterfall area on a back board by Shelton Fire and EMS. The subject had dislocated his knee after jumping off the rocks at the top of the waterfall into the water. On the trail to the "Waterfall" are several DEEP signs stating "No Swimming or Climbing on the Rocks". The subject admitted to Officer Kiely that he was swimming in the water and jumping off the rocks when he was injured. The subject was transported to a hospital where it was determined that he had split his patella in half and broke his tibia/fibia in his lower leg. The subject was issued an infraction for Swimming in Prohibited Area, and Disorderly Conduct.

Domestic Assault and Interfering with an Officer

On August 12th a call was received of a reported domestic violence assault at a campsite in Austin Hawes Campground in the American Legion State Forest. Officer Alexander Johnston, Sergeant Sean Buckley and Sergeant Keith Williams responded along with a state police trooper.

It was determined that the victim of the assault had been at the campground with his girlfriend and children. The girlfriend had been drinking and attempted to take the children out of a camping cabin with the intent of driving out of the campground. While attempting to prevent his girlfriend from taking the children, the victim suffered facial injuries. Sgt Williams had already taken the victim’s girlfriend into custody when she became belligerent and combative. In an attempt to get her under control Sgt Williams had to restrain and handcuff her.
Upon searching the female subject Officer Johnston discovered that she was in possession of drug paraphernalia. She was arrested and charged with Assault in the 3rd Degree, Interfering with an Officer and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. While being processed at Troop L the female subject again became belligerent and attempted to assault one of the officers processing her. A second count of Interfering with an officer was added to the list of charges for the subject.


Illegal possession of an American Alligator

On August 22nd the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (D.E.E.P.) received an e-mail complaint regarding an alligator for sale on Ebay. It is illegal to possess an alligator in Connecticut without proper permits.

Officer Alexandra Blackwell was assigned to investigate. Officer Blackwell located the ad which offered the live baby alligator for $100. The ad also included two color photographs of the alligator and its habitat. The ad had a cell phone number listed as the point of contact and an address in Cheshire CT.
Officer Blackwell made contact with the subject offering the alligator for sale acting as an interested buyer. Officer Blackwell made arrangements with the subject to meet at a location to make the purchase.

Officer Blackwell, with the assistance of other EnCon waited at the predetermined meeting location and observed a vehicle matching the description given by the subject pull into the parking lot. Upon investigation the officers approached the vehicle with the subject inside and in addition to a large glass tank they saw assorted items that would create a habitat for an alligator and an alligator that measured approximately 12 inches long.

Officer Blackwell arrested the subject for illegal possession of an alligator. The alligator was turned over to a reptile and wildlife rehabilitator for placement. The investigation also resulted in an active warrant for the subject issued by the Newtown Police Department for his involvement in a burglary and larceny incident. The warrant was confirmed and Officer Blackwell took the subject into custody where he was then transported to the Newtown Police Department and processed accordingly.


Operating under suspension

On August 25th EnCon Police Officer Alexandra Blackwell was traveling West on Interstate 84 in the area of Waterbury. At the time the traffic on the highway was heavy, bumper to bumper, and stopped. While in stopped traffic Officer Blackwell observed the driver of the vehicle directly in front of her open the driver side window reach out and poured off the foam from a can of beer on to the highway. Officer Blackwell pulled the vehicle over and determined that while not under the influence, the operator was driving with a suspended driver’s license. Officer Blackwell arrested the operator for Operation of a Motor Vehicle while under suspension and the vehicle was towed from the highway.

Very BUSY August....a lot of happy endings...some not so happy. A whole lot a stupidy. Encon...ever thought about selling some of this stuff to the tabloids lol. Thank you again for your service and stay safe.

I love these monthly highlights. Thank you for posting them.