Union rips Lamont on police bill, gun crime

In letter, state police blame portion of bill for rising violence

The Connecticut State Police Union joined the chorus of law enforcement representatives and Republican lawmakers asking Gov. Ned Lamont to suspend a portion of the state’s new police accountability bill that they blame for increasing violence in several Connecticut cities this year.

The union also decried the decision to send 15 state police personnel into Hartford earlier this month to help combat a rise in gun violence in the capital, arguing the move puts troopers at higher risk of injury, death or liability for their actions by working in Hartford, according to a letter addressed to Lamont released Friday.

“Moreover, when you signed the Police Accountability Bill into law, you failed to understand the unintended consequences, which has resulted in a significant increase in violent crimes throughout Connecticut,” the letter began. “Unfortunately, knowing the State Police is understaffed, you decided to expose our Troopers to circumstances that put them more at risk of unnecessary discipline, termination, arrest and/or conviction, injury, or even death.”

The letter follows in the footsteps of several local police department unions, including Hartford, and lawmakers like state Sen. Len Fasano who also have laid the blame for increased violence at the feet of the governor and the new accountability law, although police data show gun violence was increasing before the bill was passed at the end of July. The letter also called on the governor to suspend at least one portion of the new law that changed the standard for officers’ use of force.

Union officials have repeatedly