MONTVILLE STATE TROOPER, SUBJECT OF INVESTIGATION, HAS RETIRED

Montville — A Montville man who was the subject of an internal state police investigation has retired as a State Police trooper, and the investigation has been closed, a police spokesperson said.

Jeff Rogers, who was stationed as a trooper at the State Police Troop E in Montville, was the subject of an internal investigation into whether he violated the department’s social media policy after he described Sandy Hook Elementary School in a Facebook post as a “slaughter house” after the 2011 mass shooting there and compared the former state medical examiner to a butcher.

Rogers, who is running for a spot on the Montville Town Council as a Republican, wrote a lengthy post on his Facebook page in January attempting to defend his record as a police officer in response to a story in The Day about his decision to run.

The Montville Republican Town Committee’s Facebook page later shared the post.

In the post, he described his experience at Sandy Hook and wrote “I watched as those children were taken from the school stacked like cord wood. I watched investigators break down and cry. I watched Dr. Carver walk through the scene like a butcher through a slaughter house.”

State police spokeswoman Trooper First Class Kelly Grant said at the time that state police command staff were aware of the post, but did not specify whether the post referencing Sandy Hook led to the investigation.

Rogers retired on Oct. 1, Grant said Tuesday. Rogers declined to comment, saying only that he was enjoying his retirement.