Montville trooper accused of disclosing drug probe
By Dave Collins, The Associated Press
HARTFORD - A Connecticut state trooper accused of possibly
compromising a drug investigation by tipping off his girlfriend about it was
allowed to resign in "good standing" before a disciplinary
proceeding, documents show.
Trooper J. Severin Bergeron, who quit in November 2013, was facing
the possibility of being fired after an internal affairs investigator concluded
he broke several rules and deceived his superiors, according to records
obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Bergeron, 43, declined to comment to the AP. He left state police
after less than four years, having worked at Troop F in Westbrook and Troop E
in Montville, and is now an investment consultant in Rhode Island.
According to the internal affairs report, Bergeron's girlfriend,
who is not identified, told him that her employers at a Jewett City store
offered her a job selling "K2" synthetic marijuana. Bergeron admitted
to his superiors that he told the woman not to take the job because state
police were looking into potential drug selling at the store, the report said.
Authorities did arrest the store owners and seized a large amount
of synthetic marijuana in February 2013. But state police believed Bergeron's
disclosure of the investigation hampered the probe because other potential
suspects were alerted, documents show.
The appearance of an improper relationship between Bergeron and
the woman was reported to state police brass by a sergeant who filed a
complaint in September 2012.
The sergeant forwarded a photo posted on Facebook that showed the
woman sitting in a police cruiser wearing a state police hat, according to the
internal affairs report. Bergeron told superiors he left the woman alone in his
cruiser while he went inside a store to get some drinks, and he didn't give her
permission to wear his hat, the report said.
State police say the woman was an unauthorized passenger in
Bergeron's cruiser about 20 times.
The sergeant said that in another instance Bergeron wasn't
answering his police radio and was found at the woman's home.
The internal affairs report said Bergeron misused state police
databases numerous times to check if there were any warrants for the woman and
deceived his superiors when asked about it.
State police said there were other investigations of Bergeron but
declined to elaborate. The AP requested those reports but they weren't
immediately released.
Officials at the Department of Emergency Services and Public
Protection, which oversees state police, said any state employee is allowed to
resign in good standing if they submit two weeks' notice. The state Department
of Administrative Services was checking Wednesday if that interpretation was
correct, on a request by the AP.
Retired Col. Danny Stebbins, who was commander of the state police
when Bergeron resigned, said the good standing status was akin to being
considered innocent until proven guilty.
