By Ebony Walmsley, New Haven
Register
A police officer was slammed
with a 30-day unpaid suspension along with a verbal reprimand by the Police
Commission after he was found guilty of two charges in an ethics and integrity
case.
However, the punishiment handed
out to the officer was lighter than Police Chief Thomas J. Wydra’s written
recommendation, which was that the officer be terminated.
Sgt. Brent Zuscin was suspended
for 30 days without pay, banned from using the criminal justice database called
COLLECT and verbally reprimanded after a recent vote by the police commission.
The commission found that in
November 2012, Zuscin accessed the COLLECT system to find the status of the
registration of a license plate of a “female acquaintance.”
On another occasion in November
2012, Zuscin allegedly allowed a female visitor into the police department and
into Central Communications without signing the visitor in at the front desk
and without issuing a visitor’s pass. Zuscin was issued a verbal reprimand for
the violation.
Zuscin was charged with neglect
of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer. He will return to work May 5.
“Sergeant Zuscin’s intentional
misuse of the COLLECT system is a breach of the public trust that has produced
irrevocable career consequences and has rendered him incapable of performing
any of the basic or complex functions of a police officer,” Wydra said in his
letter.
Michael Iezzi, chairman of the
Police Commission, said the decision was a unanimous one.
“They (commission) evaluated
all of the testimony and evidence and it was unanimously decided that a 30-day
suspension was what was warranted for his actions. The commission made its
decision based on evidence and testimony. It is now up to the chief to find a
position that will be productive for the police officer and the town without
the use of COLLECT,” Iezzi said.
When asked what job Zuscin
could hold without having access to the criminal justice system, Wydra said,
“I’ll have to find him clerical work outside the office.”
Despite opposite opinions,
Iezzi said it’s up to Wydra and the police commissioners to “work together for
the betterment of the town.”
According to Wydra’s letter,
Zuscin’s access to the COLLECT system has “been permanently revoked by the
state (and) that justifies and warrants termination from employment with the
Hamden Police Department.”
Wydra said Zuscin’s misuse of
the system violated the rules and policies that oversees the user access of the
system.
According to Wydra’s letter,
Zuscin received initial and recertification training sessions on the COLLECT
system on several occasions. Wydra said Zuscin received specific
recertification training in the areas of system security and the rules of user
access.
“He was fully educated on the
guidelines governing acceptable access to the system,” Wydra said in his
letter.
Iezzi said the decision for a
30-day suspension coincided with following the commission’s charter.
“The charter dictates our
responsibilities,” Iezzi said. “I have a responsibility, I have four other
commissioners that have to make decisions.” Zuscin has been a member of the
Police Department for more than 17 years.
Zuscin also faced two
additional counts of neglect of duty and four other counts of conduct
unbecoming. The Police Commission dismissed the charges.
“Law enforcement officers are
expected to execute their sworn duties and responsibilities honestly, ethically
and within the confines of established policies, procedures and guideline,”
Wydra states in his letter.
