(The Center Square) — The union representing Connecticut state troopers has taken a vote of “no confidence” in the police agency’s leadership, citing their response to the controversy over a phony ticket scandal.
The union spells out its grievances in a scathing letter to State Police Commissioner James Rovella and Deputy Commissioner Colonel Stavros Mellekas, accusing them of fostering “an environment of mistrust” in the agency and that has “failed to protect their Troopers” and of making decisions “based on self-preservation.”
“As a result, you both have lost all credibility and should resign from your positions of leadership before things get worse,” Todd Fedigan, the police union’s president, wrote. “How could anyone work for a Commissioner and Colonel who choose their own survival over standing up for due process and the good men and women that risk their lives for the State of Connecticut?”
The union, which held a similar no confidence vote against Rovella in 2020, pointed to comments by the commissioner during a recent legislative hearing to discuss allegations that state police may have issued hundreds of “fake” tickets over several years.
Fedigan said instead of “vigorously defend the good names of your troopers,” Rovella suggested that troopers “have committed criminal conduct” and have “discriminatory ‘habits’ when interacting with the public.”
“Shamefully, you are both examples of political appointees who failed to protect their Troopers and made decisions based on self-preservation,” he wrote.
Gov. Ned Lamont has hired former U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly to investigate the allegations following a Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project audit that state police may have falsified more than 25,000 tickets between 2014 and 2021.
The state-funded group, which reviews police records for racial profiling trends, said another 32,500 records during those years showed “inaccuracies” in the citations that the group’s auditors believe may have been inappropriately issued to motorists.
The audit’s findings revealed “significant” numbers of fake and inaccurate tickets were submitted by at least one-quarter of the 1,301 troopers who wrote tickets during those years.
In the letter, Fedigan sought to discredit the claims outlined in the investigation, criticizing the police agency’s leadership for not “challenging the methodology” of the audit.
A spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont defended Rovella and Colonel Mellekas, saying they have “served the state well throughout the Lamont administration and served the public diligently throughout their careers.”
“As the Commissioner said during the recent informational hearing, we are committed to getting to the bottom of what happened, holding accountable anyone who intentionally falsified public information, and exonerating those who acted without any ill intent,” the statement read.
The police union has also filed a lawsuit seeking to block the release of names of troopers implicated in the fake ticket investigation, saying some “have already been falsely accused” and that disclosure of their names “will create an increase of public’s mistrust and confidence.”
