CT EnCon Police
Eastern District Highlights
August 2016

Fatal Water Incidents
On August 7, 2016, Officers Vroman, Scatena, Marvin and Sgt. Dwyer responded to Bigelow Hollow State Park, Union, along with State Police and fire / EMS units, on a report of a possible drowning. Upon arrival, Officer Vroman spoke with a friend of the 17 year old male victim who witnessed him go underwater; they went in a fire department boat and marked the last seen location pending the arrival of the Tolland County Dive Team, who later recovered the male. Medical services attempted CPR at which time officers and park staff transported the victim over rough trails to a waiting ambulance. He was taken to a Southbridge, MA hospital where he was pronounced deceased. EnCon Police are continuing the investigation.
On August 16th, EnCon Police were notified of a 62 year old male reported missing from Waterford the prior evening; the individual had a history of attempted suicide. Upon investigation the subject’s cell phone had been used the night before in the area of Nehantic State Forest, Lyme. The subject’s vehicle was later located at Uncas Pond, within the forest. Officers Wojcik, Tavares, Pettus, Bruno and Flockhart with K9 Ellie Mae on a vessel, and Sgt. Stanko arrived on scene, secured the area and found evidence indicating the subject had entered the water. Rescue vessels from Lyme, Taftville, Norwich, State Police and EnCon Police searched the waters, eventually locating the subject in the water not far from his apparent point of entry. The investigation by EnCon Police continues as an untimely death.
On the evening of August 22nd Officer Tavares received notification from State Police that a 30 year old male had gone under water while swimming with friends at Billings Lake, North Stonington. Officers learned that the swimmer accessed the water from the state boat launch; Officers Pettus and Blackwell also responded to the incident. Bystanders on shore saw the swimmer having trouble, swam to assist him, and were able to pull the victim out of the water. Following resuscitation attempts, he was transported to Backus Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. EnCon Police continue to investigate the incident.
Boating / BUI Enforcement
Eastern District officers conducted various shore and vessel patrols targeting boating enforcement during the month of August, particularly on the lower Connecticut and Thames Rivers, resulting in over twenty citations and warnings.
On August 6th Officers Ulkus, Wojcik, Sgt. Stanko and Capt. Lundin conducted joint enforcement with the Norwich Police Marine Unit with an emphasis on Boating Under the Influence detection, resulting in several boating and fishing violations and numerous contacts.
Park and Forest Enforcement
Officer Arsenault was conducting a patrol check of Beach Pond state boat launch on August 26th when he came upon three juvenile males in a vehicle with large amounts of marijuana, packaging material, over $500 cash, brass knuckles, and what was later determined to be a real-looking facsimile handgun. Following assistance from Officer Vroman and a state trooper who were busy with another group of youths at the same location, two 17 year old males received juvenile summonses for the drug charge(s) and possession of a dangerous weapon. The Rhode Island subjects were released to their parents and are scheduled to appear in juvenile court.
The generally hot weather kept Eastern District officers busy patrolling all area parks and forests, resulting in well over forty citations for violations ranging from drug and alcohol possession, trespassing, illegal camping and parking to operating under suspension and unregistered vehicles.

State Forest Vandalism / ATV Enforcement
On August 26, 2016, Officer Vroman received a call from a state DEEP forester reporting active trespassing on Shenipsit State Forest land in Stafford, in an area where extensive brush had been cut. He questioned a 52 year old male from Stafford, who eventually admitted he was cutting the brush to create an unauthorized trail. The subject was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree and Littering on Public Land. A court date was scheduled.
In a similar incident on August 21st, Officer Ruggiero noted a cut trail, apparently for ATV use, in Cockaponset State Forest, Haddam, where he later found five young males operating dirt bikes. All five were cited for unauthorized trail use, and two of them confessed to cutting the trail and received additional vandalism charges.

CT EnCon Police
Marine District Highlights
August 2016

Fishing Enforcement
On August 23rd, 2016, Encon Officer Fergason was patrolling the shoreline in Stratford and came upon an individual in possession of an undersized black sea bass. Officer Fergason took enforcement action for the violation and while doing so determined that the individual had an active extraditable warrant out of Hudson County, New Jersey for Violation of Probation stemming from felony drug charges. The accused was then transported to Troop G, Bridgeport and was processed accordingly. He was charged with CGS 54-170, Extradition- out of State Warrant. The individual was held overnight at Bridgeport Correctional Center and transported to GA 2 in Bridgeport the following morning.
Park and Forest Enforcement
On August 28th, Officer Reilly responded to a complaint of a naked man at Hammonasset Beach State Park. Upon arrival she found the suspect who refused to put on any clothes and began acting irrational. Sergeant Chemacki arrived on scene and convinced him to put on a pair of pants. After refusing to give the officers his name or identification they attempted to detain him when he pulled away and ran approximately one quarter mile down the beach. He then entered the water refusing officer’s commands to return to shore. Utilizing the Madison Fire boat, Officer Monday and a Madison officer spoke with the man who was now clinging onto a swim buoy. The individual continued to not comply with what was being asked. He then swam back toward shore but began wading east along the beach towards many swimmers. Officer Monday and the Madison officer jumped off the boat and into the water and attempted to detain him. Sergeant Chemacki and Officer Reilly entered the water from the beach and assisted in taking the individual into custody. He was then transported to Middlesex Shoreline Clinic for a medical evaluation by Madison Ambulance. Once released from the hospital he was transported to Troop F where he was processed accordingly and charged with 53a-167a, Interfering with an Officer and 53a-181, Breach of Peace 2nd. He was then released on a $10,000 non-surety bond with a court appearance date at GA 23 New Haven.

Western District Highlights
August 2016
HUNTING:

On July 15, 2016, Officer Mihalyak and Sergeant Buckley responded to the report of an individual having shot a black bear with a handgun. The individual was fishing on the Housatonic River, New Milford. A black bear came out of the woods in what was initially described by the individual as only “20 feet away and the bear was standing up and not moving away.” The individual shot the black bear with a Smith & Wesson 500 fearing that it would attack him. The individual said he had previously encountered a black bear in this area and carried the S&W 500 for protection from bears. After further investigation the distance observed between the location of the black bear when it was shot and the individual was 32 yards (96 feet). A necropsy was completed and after completing the investigation an arrest warrant was applied for and obtained. On August 17, 2016, the individual turned himself in at Troop A, Southbury, and was charged with C.G.S. 26-80a Illegal taking of black bear. The individual was scheduled to appear at Bantam Superior Court on August 29, 2016.

PARK & FOREST:

On 08/01/2016, at about 1330 hours, a lone teenage male was hiking at Talcott Mountain State Park off a trail in the area of the King Phillip Cave when he lost his footing and slid down the hill, falling over several small drop offs before falling off of a 50 foot cliff. The hiker was able to call his mother on his cell phone, who then called 911. Off. Yescott, along with the Simsbury Police, Fire and EMS responded to the scene. Due to the location, with no vehicle access and limited trails in the area, the rescue took approximately three hours. The victim was secured at the scene and pulled up the mountain by ropes while being secured in a Stokes basket. The victim sustained serious non-life threatening injuries which included a fracture to his left femur and right heel, thoracic spinal fracture and metatarsal fractures in both feet. Life Star transported the victim to Hartford Hospital for treatment, where he underwent several surgeries over several weeks. The victim is expected to make a full recovery.

On 08/18/2016 at approximately 1930 hours, Officer Chickos was on patrol in the town Granby. While driving passed the parking area to Enders State Forest, he observed a female peering over the door of a convertible car parked in the lot. The convertible had the windows rolled up and the top was down. Officer Chickos turned his patrol vehicle around and returned to the parking area to investigate where he saw the female sitting in a vehicle parked directly next to the convertible. Upon exiting his patrol vehicle, he noticed the female appeared extremely nervous. Using his verbal investigative skills, Officer Chickos was able to obtain a confession from the female and recover a wallet that she had stolen from the convertible. The wallet was returned to the owner of the vehicle shortly after it was recovered with all contents intact. The female was identified and charged with Burglary in the 3rd degree and Larceny in the 6th degree. She is scheduled to appear in court.


NUISANCE WILDLIFE:

On 08/23/16, Officer Heath received a call for service regarding a bear that had been shot in Hartland after it had attacked the homeowners Domesticated Pig. Upon my arrival he observed a medium sized (approximately 150-200lb) male black bear in a tree with a severe injury to its right rear as the result of a gunshot wound. The injury made the leg inoperable. After deliberation with a member of the Wildlife Division, it was determined the bear needed to be humanely euthanized. The bear was transported to Sessions Woods for examination.

PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Five District officers participated in four public outreach events, including ride-a-longs, Audubon Kids Camp, a DEEP sanctioned event and a local PD event.