The Connecticut State Board of Mediation and Arbitration returned two decisions in separate cases involving the firing of first responders in Shelton and Bridgeport late last month. Document in the cases were just made public.
In Shelton, the police department has been ordered to reinstate an officer who was fired by the city in August of 2020. The officer was also awarded back pay for the period she was fired.
According to information in the board’s decision, Officer Caroline Moretti was terminated by the Shelton police department following an investigation into photographs that had been posted on Facebook. Moretti was the subject of one of the photos but was not the person who posted them.
In April of 2020, during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shelton Police Department closed both the men’s and women’s locker rooms and bathrooms. At one time, male officers were allowed to use the bathroom one at a time but the women’s room was deemed inoperable. Upon complaint by the union, both bathrooms were again shut down and the department brought portable toilets in that were placed outside the department.
Because the locker rooms had been closed, some officers, including Moretti, decided to change in the parking lot. After they were informed of this, Union officials decided to document this by asking officers to take photographs while they were changing. Some officers, however, had already been doing this and several photos were taken of the officers changing in the parking lot. Some of those photos were then posted on a Facebook page and a separate website by a retired police officer and an agent of the union.
Moretti testified that she had not authorized the former officer to post the photo and was unaware it had been posted until someone notified her.
The department launched an investigation into the post and interviewed several officers, including Moretti who told investigators that a dispatcher had taken photographs of her changing in the parking lot but did not know if those were the ones posted.
Following the investigation, the Chief of Police fired Moretti. The reasoning for the firing included an accusation that a photograph of her changing “down to her bra” in the parking lot was a “voyeuristic scheme” and was “done intentionally to discredit the image of the police department.”
The board, however, disagreed with this opinion, saying that the action and the photographs were not “demeaning or degrading” and were done with the intention of documenting conditions, likely to be used as evidence should the Union file a future grievance against the department.
Additionally, Shelton department officials claimed that officers were not forced to change in the parking lot and could have requested access to the restrooms to do so. The board, however, found that actions the department did take – including the installation of portable toilets – countered this claim.
In addition to the Board’s findings against the department’s reasoning for firing Moretti, they also determined that the Shelton Chief of Police inserted himself into the Internal Affairs investigation at every stage which they said was highly inappropriate. The Chief should, the said, have allowed IA investigators to work independently and made disciplinary decisions only after receiving the IA report.
In Bridgeport, meanwhile, a former Captain of the Fire Department will not be getting his job back after he was fired for stealing funds from a department charitable organization he helped run.
Captain Darrien Penix was fired by the department in November 2019 after it was alleged he had made 153 unauthorized purchases in 11 different states with credit and debit cards belonging to the Bridgeport Firebirds Society.
The Firebirds Society is an organization of Black and Hispanic firefighters who fundraise to support causes in Bridgeport. While they are not directly associated with the City, they work closely together and the City in fundamental in fundraising efforts.
When it was discovered, Penix admitted to the 16-month embezzling scheme to the Firebirds Executive Board. Penix, who was the President of the organization at the time, was relieved of his duties in July. A month later, he was arrested by police and charged. His mugshot made local and national news.
Following the arrest, Penix was placed on administrative leave while the department held a hearing on the issue. During that time, Penix reimbursed the organization more than $15,000.
Following the hearing, during which Penix did not offer an explanation for his actions, he was fired by the department.
In a grievance brought by Penix, he argues that he was fired for actions committed while off duty and that as a result he did not violate any City rules. Penix said he believed his was actually fired because of the negative press the department received when the story hit the news.
The department, however, argued that Penix’s actions violated the law which in turn violated his oath of office as a firefighter.
Ultimately, the Board found in favor of the Department and determined that Penix was fired for just cause. Ordered paid from the department were any benefits Penix accrued as an employee, including pension and sick pay.
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