A former Connecticut State Trooper has filed a lawsuit against the State of Connecticut alleging Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) officials retaliated against him for “exposing misconduct within the Connecticut State Police, including the misuse of overtime compensation and the waste of taxpayer resources by sworn law enforcement personnel.”
According to the April 24, 2026, complaint, former Master Sergeant Dominic Guguen claims he was retaliated against after filing an anonymous complaint with CT State Police Internal Affairs in 2024 alleging Sergeant Robert Hazen was approving his own overtime – allegations that became public in 2025 – but states that because of his position and role in the state police, leadership was quickly able to tie him to the complaint.
“Given his role, Plaintiff had access to relevant systems, including Kronos, direct observational knowledge of overtime practices, and a demonstrated history of reporting misconduct,” attorney Rachel Baird wrote in the complaint. “Based on the subject matter of the complaint, Plaintiff’s known history, the limited universe of potential complainants, and questions directed at Plaintiff about the complaint, DESPP-CSP identified Plaintiff as the author of the anonymous complaint.”
According to the allegations, in retaliation for the complaint, State Police leadership revived a complaint made against Goguen by a female trooper from 2023 concerning a WhatsApp message, launched a 219-day internal affairs investigation into his conduct, and he then had to wait 455 days before he could have a Loudermill hearing.
Goguen claims the investigation did not actually look at the purported electronic devices or communications he had sent, did not conduct a forensic examination of the evidence, ignored exculpatory evidence, and was told, following the Loudermill hearing, that the department would pursue termination if he did not retire.
The complaint goes on to allege the CT State Police are purposely withholding documents Goguen requested through the Freedom of Information Act in August 2025, and that following public exposure of Hazen’s accumulation of overtime, State Police Colonel Daniel Loughman issued a gag order preventing troopers from speaking with reporters and routing FOI requests through the Colonel’s office, “thereby deterring disclosure of misconduct and chilling further protected speech by sworn personnel.”
Goguen also claims the department has continued its retaliation after he retired by withholding a retirement badge and documentation “required for LEOSA credentials, including confirmation of good standing and an identification card.”
Goguen had been arrested in 2019 for disorderly conduct related to an argument several months earlier between him and Melissa Brezniak, a fellow state trooper with whom he was having a relationship. Brezniak filed charges after the relationship went sour, resulting in years’ worth of ongoing legal issues and investigations.
Goguen claims in the lawsuit that IA did not properly investigate his allegations against Brezniak, and that a 2023 allegation she made against him involving a “purported WhatsApp message” was used by the department as retaliation. Goguen’s disorderly conduct charges were eventually dropped, and DESPP has no rules against relationships among troopers.
“Only after Plaintiff engaged in protected speech on August 12, 2024, did DESPP-CSP revive and rely upon allegations made by that trooper on June 5, 2023, concerning a purported WhatsApp message as the basis for discipline,” Baird wrote.
Goguen filed a lawsuit against the DESPP in 2024 after filing multiple complaints with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), alleging he was unfairly discriminated against by the department in how they investigated Brezniak’s allegations and in changes to his employment because of those allegations. The judge eventually ruled in favor of DESPP, citing a stipulated agreement Goguen had signed as part of a deal with the department to resolve a union grievance.
Prior to Goguen’s latest lawsuit against the state, the identity of whoever blew the whistle on Hazen approving his own overtime was unknown. According to emails obtained by Inside Investigator, attempts to restrict Hazen’s ability to approve his own overtime were overridden by state police leadership, who claimed that Hazen was acting as a “liaison” between the Office of Field Operations and Col. Laughman’s office. According to those same emails, state auditors are looking into the matter.
Goguen is seeking compensatory damages, back pay and lost benefits, compensation for emotional damages, attorneys fees and punitive damages.
Connecticut State Police said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
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