By David Moran contact the
reporter
MIDDLEFIELD — A 26-year veteran
of the Middlefield Police Department has been suspended with pay while he faces
criminal charges that he falsely reported details of a July car crash.
Officer Scott Halligan is
accused of falsifying a report by claiming that a deer damaged his personal
vehicle.
Halligan has been suspended
with pay since at least mid-September.
"We're just letting the
process work its way through the court," said First Selectman Jon A.
Brayshaw.
Halligan appeared in Superior
Court in Meriden Monday, where he attempted to apply for accelerated
rehabilitation, a special form of probation for first-time offenders that would
expunge the charges from his record after completion.
Judge Philip Scarpellino
continued Halligan's case to Nov. 10 because Brayshaw appeared before the court
and said that the town had not formulated a legal opinion on Halligan's
charges. Scarpellino told Brayshaw to consult with the town attorney.
Brayshaw said that Halligan has
never been suspended before and is one of only three police officers for the
town.
According to an arrest warrant,
another town officer noticed damage to the front bumper, grille, hood and
driver's side fender of Halligan's 2005 Nissan Maxima in early July. Halligan told
the officer that he had struck a deer on Cider Mill Road near the Coginchaug
River bridge when it jumped out in front of his car. The officer said that
Halligan told him that he did not report the incident and would do so later.
Halligan later told the officer
that a local auto body shop gave him a quote of between $3,000 and $4,000 to
fix the damage to his car. Halligan subsequently sent a text message to the
other officer on July 8 asking him to create a car versus deer incident report.
Such a report is required of law enforcement officials to report the killing of
any deer, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection.
A Middlefield resident state
trooper noticed the deer kill incident report on Halligan's desk July 11 and
the damage to his personal vehicle in the parking lot. When the trooper
inspected Halligan's vehicle, he found "no physical evidence of a deer
strike" and that the damage observed was inconsistent with what was in the
report.
When questioned by state
police, Halligan admitted that the accident did not involve a deer and provided
a written statement that the accident occurred at the intersection of Main
Street and Reeds Gap Road when he collided with "some metal debris that
was in the road." Halligan told state police that he did not think the
damage was significant until he examined his car the following morning.
Halligan told state police that
he had "reconsidered" filing an insurance claim "after weighing
all the aspects of the incident."
Halligan's attorney, Daniel
Esposito, noted that Halligan has not been charged with any violation of
department rules or been disciplined.
"Officer Halligan has
cooperated fully with this inquiry into this matter and remains committed to
returning to duty as soon as possible," Esposito said. "To be clear,
there was no fraud, no gain and no intent."
