Some officers in library case had disciplinary record
DANBURY — The police officer who faced the stiffest penalty — an eight-day suspension — after the June incident at the Danbury Library had never previously been disciplined with the Danbury Police Department.
That wasn’t the case for some of his colleagues.
Two of the officers had been reprimanded orally or faced counseling sessions for previous violations, while two additional officers had been cleared of accusations or were not disciplined, according to internal affairs reports Hearst Connecticut Media received from Danbury Police Department through a Freedom of Information Act request.
All four officers have received various awards throughout their career. They could not be reached for comment through a police officer union official.
The Danbury Police Department was criticized for an incident in June in which a man visiting the library attempted to “audit” First Amendment rights by filming in the building. The man claimed his rights were violated, which Danbury Chief Patrick Ridenhour has since stated he disagreed with. An investigation into the incident, however, resulted in violation of some policies and disicpline for some.
Officers Paul Tibbitts and Christopher Dennis, who the internal affairs investigation determined violated policies in the library incident, were reprimanded together after a 2019 car crash that injured a member of the public.
That internal affairs investigation found the officers violated policy by performing their work in a “careless or negligent manner” by their “improper driving maneuvers,” the report states.
“The result of their actions caused property damage and possible injury to a citizen and Officer Tibbitts,” Capt. Robert Myles wrote in an April 2019 report to the police chief.
Since this was a first offense of this policy for the officers, they received an “oral reprimand” where a sergeant discussed the incident and the improper driving maneuvers that occurred, the report states.
After the Danbury Library incident, Tibbitts was suspended for three days without pay and was required to take remedial training. Dennis was required to take counseling and remedial training.
In 2018, Dennis was retrained on arrest procedures after he arrested the wrong man with the same name of someone who had a warrant out for his arrest, according to a January 2018 internal affairs report.
Dennis earned the Lifesaving Medal and the Medal of Meritorious Service in 2019.
Tibbitts violated policy in 2017 when he failed to contact a supervisor when he appropriately used force to arrest a suspect, according to an internal affairs report. He was given a counseling session on the use of force policy.
“Ofc. Tibbitts stated that he understood the policy and stated that the next time he uses use of force to affect an arrest he will notify a supervisor immediately,” the December 2017 report states.
Tibbitts was verbally reprimanded in 2017 after he left a zip lock bag of prescription drugs in the front passenger floor area of a patrol car and “forgot to dispose of it properly,” a September 2017 report states.
Tibbitts was the recipient of the Exceptional Police Service and Unit Citation awards in 2017.
First penalties
Officer Ken Utter had never been disciplined before facing remedial training and an eight-day suspension without pay due to the library incident.
During his 25-year career with Danbury police, he’s faced four internal investigations, one in 1998, another in 2004, a third in 2014 and a fourth in 2015, according to his records. He was either cleared of wrongdoing in three and did not face discipline in the other.
Utter has earned various awards, including Unit Citation in 1997; Exceptional Police Service, Meritorious Citation, and Medal of Meritorious Service in 1998; Exceptional Police Service and Unit Citation in 2000; Exchange Club’s Officer of the Year in 2003; and Unit Citation in 2006.
Sgt. John Dickinson was cleared in two internal investigations, one in 2011 and another in 2015. In both cases, investigators found he did not violate policies, with the 2011 report stating he and other officers “acted reasonably” based on information they had.
Due to the library incident earlier this year, Dickinson received a written reprimand and was ordered to take a “brief refresher training” on how to operate his body-worn camera.
Dickinson has received the Meritorious Citation in 2009, the Meritorious Citation and Unit Citation in 2012, and the Unit Citation in 2017.