Cop fired for excessive force incident

BRIDGEPORT — A 20-year veteran of the city’s police force has been let go over an excessive force incident involving a local resident, officials announced Wednesday.

Officer Richard Cretella was terminated after an April 1, 2020, incident which prompted an internal affairs investigation.

In a brief statement, Acting Chief Rebeca Garcia said after review of the evidence and rebuttal information provided during a due process hearing, it was found that Cretella used excessive force during the incident.

Garcia said Cretella’s termination was effective Wednesday.

“Officer Cretella engaged in inappropriate behavior that is not reflective of the department and will not be condoned or tolerated,” Garcia said, without further expanding on what happened.

When asked for more details on the incident, city officials said there was no additional information available at this time.

Rowena White, the city’s director of communications, did not return a request for comment from the mayor on the officer’s firing.

Sgt. Brad Seely, President of the Bridgeport Police Union, said in a statement the union will file a grievance over the firing.

“All citizens have a right to due process and Officer Cretella is no exception. The Union will take the necessary steps to ensure Officer Cretella’s rights are preserved,” Seely said. “The accusations against Officer Cretella are serious, and should be evaluated by a neutral third party.”

This isn’t the first incident involving Cretella to make headlines.

On June 7, 2018, Cretella was involved in an incident involving former mayoral candidate Enrique “Rick” Torres.

Cretella was on an overtime detail at a construction site when he was approached by Torres, who allegedly started to yell at the officer and accuse him of being rude to his daughter-in-law, police said at the time.

Torres, who was arrested that day, said the officer was confrontational, police said. Torres told Hearst that Cretella allegedly shouted at his daughter-in-law after she made a wrong turn at the construction site. He claimed to Hearst that the officer made her cry.

The one-term councilman, who has run unsuccessfully three times for mayor, was charged with second-degree breach of peace, interfering with a police officer and operating without a driver’s license. Those charges have since been dismissed.