Contracts that shield cops ‘have got to go,’ ACLU says
Avon police remove disciplinary reports from personnel files after a few years. Easton police can’t use anonymous complaints to punish an officer.
Bridgeport’s police chief is unable to suspend an officer without pay unless the employee is charged with a felony.
Those are a few examples of provisions tucked within police union contracts that the ACLU of Connecticut says shields officers from accountability when they harm people, violate civil rights or commit misdeeds.
“Contract provisions that allow police to avoid meaningful discipline, transparency and accountability have got to go,” said Dan Barrett, legal director for the ACLU.
An analysis by the group of local and state police contracts found that some union pacts establish when misconduct investigations must be shut down and limit a police chief’s ability to dole out discipline.
Union officials took issue with the ACLU report, saying it paints an inaccurate picture.
“I think it’s sad to see the Connecticut ACLU joining the ranks of corporations and billionaires that are trying to knee-cap the unions,” said Larry Dorman, a spokesman for AFSCME Council 4, which represents over 2,000 Connecticut police officers, including those in Bridgeport, Norwalk, Wilton and Westport.
“Blaming police unions for systematic racism and inequality is unfair and places an unfair burden on officers,” Dorman said. “They deserve better than to be painted with a broad brush.”
The report comes on the heels of demonstrations in Connecticut and across the county following the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta while being arrested. It also comes at a time when cities across the nation, including Hartford, are talking about disbanding, dismantling or defunding their police department.
At least five people in Connecticut have died this year while in the hands of police, the ACLU said.
State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport and co-chairman of the judiciary committee, said union contracts are on the mind of lawmakers as they prepare for a special session over police reforms, an effort that will likely extend into next year.
“The issue of how union contracts are used is not a new topic to us,” Stafstrom said. “This report flushed out some of the specifics. We are aware of this issue and the concerns.”
“Overplaying your hand”
Entitled “Bargained Away,” the ACLU report offers examples of how police contracts are rife with ways to protect officers from discipline.
The report notes there are clauses that require investigators to turn over evidence to accused officers, establish rules for questioning, allow suspended officers to trade vacation days for pay, disregard past misconduct when considering promotions and require closed door hearings over allegations.
“A review of every police union contract in Connecticut reveals that many include language that shields police misconduct and weakens accountability and oversight,” the ACLU said.
In Seymour, action on a complaint against an officer has to be taken within three months or it goes away, while the North Haven contract gives just 30 days, the report states.
“Changes to contracts alone will not end police harm, but they are a critical tool for dismantling the current system of policing,” Barrett said.
The ACLU noted the Avon police contract requires supervisors to remove from personnel files reprimands that are more than two years old, and disciplinary actions that are five years old, if the officer does not receive additional disciplinary action.
The Windsor police contract specifies that verbal reprimands be removed after six months, written reprimands after two years and suspensions of 10 days or less after three years.
“Hartford agreed to allow certain police employee disciplinary records to play no role in future discipline, and, by extension, future promotions and assignments,” the ACLU said.
“Even unsustained complaints should be documented and analyzed, as part of an early-warning process that can identify problem employees,” the ACLU said.
In Easton and Middlebury, anonymous complaints can be accepted but they cannot result in discipline. At least 19 police contracts prohibit or limit anonymous complaints, the ACLU said.
Mike Lawlor, a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven and a former state undersecretary for criminal justice, said he is not surprised at what the ACLU found.
“Over the past decade or so, the unions have focused on getting those kind of protections written into contracts and it limits the ability to hold police accountable,” Lawlor said.
Troy Raccuia, director of collective bargaining for AFSCME Council 4, said the provisions cited by the ACLU are not unusual.
“They cite that police have protections that other unions don’t have,” Raccuia said. “The discipline and grievance procedures are very similar; they all have a just cause standard, they all have a procedure. There is no special protection.”
“Phantom discipline”
The ACLU highlighted the case of former Bridgeport officer Steven Figueroa as an example of how union contracts protect officers.
Despite being charged with numerous misdemeanors related to domestic abuse violence, Figueroa remained on Bridgeport’s payroll — sparking demands to fire him and outrage in the community.
The reason: Bridgeport’s police contract prohibits suspensions without pay unless the officer is charged with a felony.
After Figueroa’s charges reached the felony level, he was suspended without pay. The city last year fired him following an investigation of six domestic violence related charges.
“What’s the point in having any kind of policies and procedures if you can draw a salary for poor behavior?” said Takina Shafer, a member of the Bridgeport Generation Now Action Council, referring to the city’s police contract.
The ACLU noted Hartford officers can only be suspended without pay if they are arrested for a felony, a sexual offense or larceny, or if they assault another officer.
Hartford’s contract offers the option of continuing to work and get paid during suspension by giving up an equivalent number of vacation days, the ACLU noted.
Ricardo Torres, a former member of Hartford’s Civilian Police Review Board, called the provisions “phantom discipline” and pointed out that some officers disciplined for misconduct were later promoted. “It’s not punishment because they know that nothing is real,” Torres said.
Raccuia said police contracts outline the process for termination and suspension following arrests.
“Other municipal contracts don’t contain that,” Raccuia said.
And removing old information from personnel files is also not unusual, Raccuia said.
“If you look at police and other public sector employees, those provisions are in their contracts,” Raccuia said. “There are retention policies that have to be followed and we deal the state Board of Mediation. For public employees, discipline is overturned at times.”
The state Board of Mediation and Arbitration resolves conflicts between municipalities and their union employees, ranging from sick days to termination.
A Hearst Connecticut Media review last year found that seven police officers fired by Connecticut municipalities — including one in Danbury and one in East Haven — over the last two years were reinstated by the mediation board, primarily because the police departments violated their union contracts.
Stamford Police Chief Tim Shaw said his department’s contract offers sufficient “checks and balances” for both sides.
“We have our internal affairs division and I don’t think [the union contract] restricts that,” Shaw said. “An officer does need to get a letter if being investigated. Our division takes every complaint and goes with it.”
Shaw said Stamford investigates anonymous complaints and those can lead to discipline.
“The union just protects the officers and makes sure all the boxes are checked off,” Shaw said. “It doesn’t hinder us or slow us down.”
Finding fixes
Stafstrom pointed out that many of the provisions cited by the ACLU are the result of local decisions. He hoped municipalities will become more aware of what they allow in labor pacts.
“It’s not uncommon when a municipality negotiates a contract that they are looking at bottom line, budgetary figures,” Stafstrom said.
“Some of these underling provisions may not be what they are most focused on,” Stafstrom noted. “A lot of this falls back on the municipalities and hopefully is raising their awareness to consider these provisions carefully.”
Raccuia denied trading pay raises for protections.
“I never negotiated a protection for monetary gains,” Raccuia said. “Our big things are pay, pension and health care. That’s a ridiculous statement as far as I’m concerned.”
Lawlor said he expects lawmakers are going to enact specific police reforms, including steps to rein in future police union contracts.
“My sense is this is an example of what you might call overplaying your hand,” Lawlor said, referring to the police unions.
“The reaction is going to be extreme,” Lawlor said. “Whatever change is going to take place will be substantial and won’t be tinkering.”
Dorman said unions are closely watching the reform process.
“We want to have a voice and make sure legislators hear our concerns,” Dorman said. “No union contract, whether police or for anyone else, should be viewed as a shield for misconduct or criminal behavior.”
The ACLU said it is time for lawmakers to block the more onerous contract provisions from future contracts.
“Municipal and statelevel policymakers have a responsibility to stop bargaining away the people’s rights to hold police accountable, stop agreeing to contracts that increase police funding, and start seeking changes to stop police violence,” the ACLU said.
“Changes to contracts alone will not end police harm, but they are a critical tool for dismantling the current system of policing.” Dan Barrett, legal director for the ACLU of Connecticut