Retiring Wethersfield police chief will receive six-figure payout

WETHERSFIELD — Longtime Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran, who said in a letter to the town council last month that he planned to retire, is expected to receive more than $220,000 for unused sick, vacation and earned time according to town officials.

The payout is expected to include about $189,000 for 353 unused sick days, about $32,000 for 60 unused vacation days and about $4,200 for earned time.

Town Manager Gary Evans said the numbers are “estimates of contractual obligations.”

The payment is part of an executed agreement for Cetran to leave the department he has been with for 47 years, including the last 18 as chief. It comes on the heels of a two-month paid leave related to an internal investigation into two sergeants for allegedly “abusing time.”

In recent years he and the department have also come under criticism for several incidents, including the 2019 shooting death of an 18-year-old manduring a traffic stop.

The shooting happened on the Silas Deane Highway during an attempted traffic stop after an officer discovered the license plates on the car Anthony Jose Vega-Cruz was driving belonged to a different vehicle.

Vega-Cruz was shot and killed by Wethersfield Police Officer Layau Eulizier when Vega-Cruz tried to evade officers and drove the car toward the officer.

Eulizier resigned in April, less than a month after Hartford State’s Attorney Gail P. Hardy ruled the April 20, 2019 shooting of VegaCruz justified.

The department has also come under criticism for allegedly racially profiling minorities during traffic stops and for its use of hidden cameras in the women’s locker room in an effort to determine if someone was stealing female officers’ belongings.

Cetran has said that the officers were aware of the plan to use the cameras, but were not told when or where they would be in use.

Cetran’s agreement calls for him to stay on as chief until Aug. 31 to help the department through the annual budget process and find a successor. He has the option of retiring before Aug 31.

It also includes a clause allowing himto stay onuntil Dec. 31 if a successor has not been named yet.

However, after Sept. 1, Cetran, who is paid about $143,000 a year, would not be able to accrue more vacation or sick time, according to the agreement.

He will receive an annual pension of $105,000 after he retires.

Evans said Thursday that the payouts are part of a contractual agreement.

“This is a reflection of many years of service the chief provided to the town,” Evans said. “He never called in sick. He was dedicated and there when the town needed it.”

Cetran’s agreement also calls for him to be paid a rate equal to his hourly pay rate if he were to provide consulting services or be subpoenaed in a court case after his retirement.

Cetran’s retirement package is not unusual for long-serving police officers.

Daryl Roberts, who retired as Hartford’s police chief in 2012 after 30 years of service in 2012, cashed in unused sick, vacation and holiday time for $272,000.

Roberts, who retired at the age of 53 and now works for Hartford Public Schools, also receives an annual pension of about $128,000.

In his retirement letter to the town council, Cetran said it was an honor to “serve the great citizens of Wethersfield for over 47 years. I am proud of the many accomplishments achieved.”

“Our department has attained national and state accreditation and been at the forefront of policing through dedicated and competent officers of all nationalities, gender, and backgrounds,” Cetran wrote. “My service as the President of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association for a full term was a validation of the success of our Department and the service of my dedicated brother and sister officers.”

Leo Chupron, a retired Hartford police detective who met Cetran when the two were working patrol for their respective departments and has known him for more than four decades, said there is no better chief in the state.

“He’s a cop’s cop,” Chupron said. “The guy is 100% police officer and he treats his people the same.”

Cetran was unavailable for comment.