Charges dropped, but ex- Derby cop won’t return

Former Derby police officer Jordan Gochros has had his charges of thirddegree assault, seconddegree breach of peace and third- degree criminal mischief dismissed in state Superior Court in New Haven after completing a family violence program.

Gochros, 33, of West Haven, was arrested last August after an alleged dispute with his girlfriend while they were riding in a car together on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard in New Haven.

According to the New Haven police affidavit, Derby Police Lt. Justin Stanko was investigating the reported assault and met with the woman. The warrant stated Stanko “observed her lip to be swollen with a noticeable mark on her upper lip as well as red marks on her neck.” While she spoke with Stanko, she “got choked up and fought back tears.”

She then made a written statement to Stanko about her encounter with Gochros. She began it by saying she and Gochros had been dating “on and off” since October 2015. She said that on the previous night ( Aug. 2, 2017), they left Dante’s Restaurant in Stratford together, with Gochros driving.

She stated that during the drive, they began arguing because she wanted to break up with him.

“He was calling me a whore,” she told police. “I was on my phone and he grabbed it and threw it out the driver’s window. I got upset and told him to pull over so I could get my phone. Without anyone saying anything else, he started hitting me. He was hitting me with his right hand while the car was moving. He hit me in the face about three or four times.”

She added, “As he was hitting me, I was holding my hands up, crying. I wanted him to stop. I felt scared and mad that he kept hitting me. I was screaming and telling him to stop and pull over.”

She reported that when Gochros did pull over, she walked back to look for her phone. Soon afterward, she found the shattered phone and walked back to the car. But Gochros was gone. She then drove his car back to his home in West Haven, quickly packed some of her things “before he got back” and drove off in her car to see a friend and tell him what had happened.

The woman said “this is not the first time Jordan hit me. I want him to get help with his anger issues.”

The affidavit quoted Gochros telling New Haven police during a voluntary interview that while he and the woman were driving home, she started arguing with him, saying “all we do is fight, I’m not happy.” He stated she started hitting him while he was driving. But he maintained he didn’t hit her back.

Gochros said that while they were driving on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard, she tried to jump out of the car. He said that while he was trying to hold her back from jumping, she started to hit him again and ripped his shirt. He told police he parked the car near the flea market on the Boulevard and got out “to let her calm down” but that she jumped into the driver’s seat and drove off. He then started walking back to West Haven.

Gochros also told police he threw the woman’s phone out the window because she was hitting him with it. The affidavit noted, “He stated he did not hit her and marks on her are from him trying to push her away to stop her from hitting him.”

But the affidavit quoted Gochros admitting he did “not have any marks on his body.” An officer quoted in the affidavit said he noticed Gochros’ shirt was torn.

When the New Haven Register asked Stanko a series of questions about Gochros’ status with the police department now and over the months since his arrest and whether he had been paid during that period, Stanko merely said Gochros had resigned from the police force. Stanko referred the Register to other media reports about Gochros.

The Valley Independent reported Gochros resigned Jan. 29 after a three- hour, closed- door Derby Police Commission hearing. The Independent said Gochros, who had been a Derby police officer since 2002, had been suspended without pay since his arrest.

According to the Independent, the city reached an agreement with Gochros in which he would be paid $ 4,508.40 while agreeing he won’t sue the police department and won’t re- apply for a job as a Derby police officer. As for the money Gochros received, Derby Police Chief Gerald Narowski said he was due 15 days of paid time off.

The agreement stated Gochros had “made his decision to resign freely and voluntarily, without any duress or undue influence.”