Report: 73 CT cops lost certification for misconduct

Dozens of police officers employed at departments throughout Connecticut have lost their law enforcement certifications for violations ranging from making false statements to felony convictions over the past three decades, according to a database published by USA Today.

At least 73 police officers in the state lost certification between 1988 and 2017 for misconduct, the database shows.

In most cases, cops serving in Connecticut must be certified by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, though state police and some small agencies are exempted from the requirement, according to the council.

The database, originally published last October, resurfaced amid scrutiny police departments both in the state and nationally following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Among the Connecticut police who lost their certifications are David Cari and Dennis Spaulding, two former members of the New Haven Police Department convicted of civil rights abuses in 2014. During Cari’s trial, evidence showed he had altered an arrest reports 27 times.

The list also includes Matthew Macero, a 12-year veteran of the Ansonia Police Department who lost his certificate in 2016 for “falsely reporting an incident (conviction),” according to the database. In May of that year, Macero pleaded guilty to charges of stealing from the department’s evidence room and falsifying records, the New Haven Register reported.

The most recent officer to lose their license as reported in the USA Today database is Leighton Gibbs, formerly of the Meriden Police Department, who was decertified in 2017 following a felony conviction for workers’ compensation fraud.

Gibbs was charged in 2016 after authorities claimed he collected around $34,000 in benefits for an injury he sustained outside of work, the Hartford Courant reported at the time.

In Connecticut, demonstrators have called for more oversight of disciplinary actions taken against police officers.

Floyd’s death has also prompted several municipalities to review their use of force policies, and Gov. Ned Lamont has pledged to work with the state legislature to ban chokeholds.