The Police Commission has made several moves it hopes will increase transparency in the oversight of the Police Commission including announced proposed changes to the commission bylaws and communication policy.

In the November 2021 elections, Old Saybrook voters overwhelmingly voted in five new members of the Police Commission who ran on a platform of changing how the commission oversees the Old Saybrook Police Department and providing transparency to the public. The commission took several steps toward that goal at its regular meeting on Jan. 24.

A Legal Opinion

First, the commission unanimously voted to hire a lawyer to review whether or not the commission’s authority is limited to hiring, firing, disciplining, and promoting the department’s sworn officers or other non-operational matters. Commission Chair Alfred Wilcox said that First Selectman Carl Fortuna said the town will pay the $5,000 fee to get an opinion from attorney Chris Hodgson.

Wilcox told the rest of the commission that the impetus for the request came from a meeting he had with former chair Frank Keeney shortly after the November elections. Wilcox said the two men met so that Keeney could give Wilcox advice on how to make the transition to a new commission as smooth as possible. During that meeting, Wilcox said that Keeney told him that it could be wise to get a legal opinion on the question as Keeney felt that Republicans and Democrats were divided on the role of the commission.

Wilcox said that Hodgson has an extensive history of serving in Connecticut municipalities including serving as the town attorney for Stratford and attorney for the police commissions in Guilford, Groton, and West Haven. Wilcox said that Fortuna had approved of the choice and noted that Hodgson is a political independent.

Bylaw Changes

An additional announcement the commission made is that proposed changes to the bylaws from Wilcox will be discussed at the next commission meeting. The proposed bylaw changes would cover four areas: What’s allowed to be addressed during public comment, how commissioner correspondence is received, how complaints made to the commission are handled, and how inquiries into complaints are handled.

Wilcox’s proposed changes are significant in a number of ways.

Currently members of the public are told to “refrain from presentations that discuss the work performances of specific employees of the Department of Police Services in a negative manner, regardless of whether or not the employee is identified in the presentation…” but Wilcox’s proposed change would allow for the public to comment positively or negatively under any item that falls under the commission’s jurisdiction. That would include police department policies, budgets, and procedures for example.

“It’s silly to only hear the good news to me,” said Wilcox.

Additionally while the current bylaws prohibit commission members from undertaking individual investigations into personnel matter, Wilcox’s proposed change would encourage commission members to gather information.

“Commissioners should strive to keep themselves informed as to all matters within their jurisdiction, including personnel of the department. To do so, they are encouraged to discuss any such matters with citizens, with present and former employees of the department, as well as with the chief of police,” part of Wilcox’s proposed change states.

“I think commission members should take initiative. The first thing that you do is find out what the facts are,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox also pointed out that the proposed change also states that commission members should not make any predeterminations and keep an open mind during matter as there are two sides to every story. A commission member would not be allowed to weigh in on matters such as disciplining an officer should they demonstrate an inability to keep bias aside, according to the proposal.

Another noteworthy change under the proposed bylaw amendments concerns the commission’s ability to ensure complaints are investigated fully. Should a complaint be made the commission about alleged wrongdoing by a member of the police department, commission members are encouraged to make the complainant aware of the protocol for filing an official complaint. Once the complaint is received, whether in writing or anonymously, the commission would have jurisdiction over determining whether a complaint has been adequately investigated and resolved.

Wilcox said that the town attorney would review the proposed changes ahead of the next meeting scheduled for Monday, Feb 28. The full text of the proposed amendments can be read in the minutes to the Jan. 24 meeting.

Commission Emails

The commission also overwhelmingly voted to approve adding to the town website commission member emails for any commission member who elects to have one. The emails are not meant for people to report emergencies, but are a way for members of the public to let commission members know of any issues they have.

“I think it’s an easy way for the public to communicate with the people elected to serve them,” said Wilcox.

The vote to put the members’ emails on the website was with six commission member in favor and one opposed. The lone vote in opposition was from commission member Carl Von Dassel, who said he felt that only the chair should have his email online.