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12/08/2010 11:00 PMIn the three months since Todd Lawrie became Clinton's police chief, his department promoted several officers, worked on a proposal for "restoring the 25th officer," and recognized several of its own for outstanding acts, including an act of bravery in which an officer broke his neck, but still performed his job.
Lawrie said he sees all that has occurred in the department since his promotion as continuing the "good work" of his predecessor, former Chief Joseph P. Faughnan, who is now serving as U.S. marshal of Connecticut. It's an economically challenging, but "exciting time to be here," he said.
Having been at the Clinton Police Department for 23 years, Lawrie said there were no surprises in his new position or the need for a lot of improvements.
Chief Faughnan "left us in great shape," said Lawrie, and tells his staff he wants "to continue that good work."
"I'm looking forward to working with a great bunch of people," he said. "It's nice to have that kind of commitment from the people you work with; makes the job that much easier."
Faughnan's departure allowed Lawrie and several officers to move up in the department, but due to budget cuts, there are now 24 officers rather than 25.
Former sergeant Thomas Lucas has been promoted to major and former patrolman Todd Carlson now holds sergeant's rank. Former patrolman Kyle Strunjo, who was tasked as the school resource officer, was promoted to corporal; the school position is now vacant. Chief Lawrie said he is working on a proposal for restoring the 25th officer, but not for the school.
"Unfortunately, the school resource officer is a bonus," Lawrie said.
The picture Lawrie paints of the current situation doesn't allow for more than straightforward police work.
“Crime seems to be more prevalent now," said the chief, who pointed to local crime data that show 228 burglaries in the first 10 months of this year, while the total last year was only 52.
In the first 10 months of 2010, there were 413 larcenies (including shoplifting and theft), while there were 438 in total last year, he said. Fraud is also up, with 50 to date and 34 last year.
Two weeks ago, the department arrested three individuals from New York who had fraudulent credit cards which were used to purchase $15,000 in Stop & Shop gift cards. Lawrie described the incident as "organized crime" that had hit the area a couple of other times.
"We are much busier than we were before," Lawrie said, attributing the rise to a distressed economy. "I know my guys are bouncing from call to call."
Above and Beyond
Several staff members received recognition at a recent award ceremony.
Corporal James DePietro received the medal of bravery for pursuing another vehicle that rammed into his "with such force that it broke DePietro's neck, which he didn't realize at the time," according to Lawrie. The chief said the pursuit continued until the subject of the chase crashed his car into some construction equipment in Killingworth and then fled on foot, pursued by DiPietro and others who eventually caught him.
DiPietro later noticed his neck was sore, went for a medical evaluation, and was told his neck was broken, said the chief. The officer was told, said Chief Lawrie, that he "could've really injured himself" if he had turned his head the wrong way after the incident.
Seargant John Carbone received an award for an "outstanding act" for an incident involving a car that stopped, fled the scene, and crashed. The driver was in a vehicle registered to a Rhode Island woman, but "something about [the subject's] demeanor led] Carbone] to believe something was wrong," said the chief. Carbone called police in Rhode Island, who discovered the woman was dead.
Lawrie "feels there's a sense of excitement" in his department after seeing the town hire a chief from within its own ranks after 19 years with its former chief, who had previously worked for the state police. He said the men and women with whom he works see that if they do their job, they could be rewarded-maybe even make chief someday.