The New Haven Register obtained the correspondence via a separate FOI request submitted to Fortuna’s office. A request for comment also was sent to Pat McHale, the attorney who, according to the Freedom of Information Commission, is handling the matter on the town’s behalf.īut correspondence between Fortuna and Hanna show that in denying Hanna’s FOI request, the first selectman cited a statute meant to protect employees from invasions of privacy. The OSPD was “experiencing what other law enforcement agencies experience in Connecticut and around the country,” he said.įortuna declined to comment on Hanna’s FOI complaint. Spera has denied that turnover is a problem for the department, telling the commission in March that some officers left for better benefits while others could not meet workplace expectations. Two former officers also challenged the legality of two separate OSPD searches. The townPolice Commission earlier this year asked Spera to create a turnover report after receiving a letter from William Bergantino, a former OSPD sergeant who also transferred to East Lyme due to “a toxic and hostile work environment,” he told the commission.īergantino’s letter came on the heels of a CT Examiner report that raised questions about the rate at which officers left Old Saybrook. Hanna is not the first Old Saybrook police officer to share concerns about the department.

The chief did not return requests for comment. “I found that the work environment there was extraordinarily stressful for reasons outside of, you know, normal working conditions,” Hanna told the New Haven Register.

This is the police 2 release date