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Suspension Ends for Old Saybrook Police Officer

The Old Saybrook Police Officer who was suspended 90 days for his alleged involvement in a bar fight while off duty has returned to active patrol, according to Police Chief Michael Spera.

On March 3, Officer Tyler Schulz was charged with breach of peace in the second degree after witnesses said he choked a man and pushed another while intoxicated at Essex restaurant Scotch Plains Tavern in February. Schulz was placed on paid administrative leave and the subject of an internal investigation by the police department.

The Police Commission unanimously voted on May 23 to hand a 90-day unpaid suspension to Schulz and enter a last chance agreement with the officer. Earlier that same month the state declined to prosecute the case against Schulz.

Spera informed the Commission at its July 25 meeting that Schulz has been cleared to resume patrol duty. Per the agreement between the Commission and the police union, Schulz had to undergo a psychological assessment by the department psychologist before he was allowed reinstatement.

Schulz also participated in mandatory de-escalation, use of force, domestic violence, and gender sensitivity courses. Additional requirements may also be set forth by the fitness of duty evaluation. Per the agreement, should Schulz violate the Uniform Standards of Conduct, he can be terminated with just cause. The terms of the agreement will continue for five years from his reinstatement date.

Prior to the disciplinary action taken against him, Schulz was the K-9 coordinator for the department. Spera said that for the time being, Schulz would be working without his K-9 as the dog would need to be recertified. Spera estimated that process may take more than a month.

Spera did not respond to a request for further comment for this article.

The Case Against Schulz

According to an affidavit written by Connecticut State Trooper Mark Roberts, shortly after midnight on Feb. 27, an employee of Scotch Plains Tavern in Essex called 911 to report a bar fight between a large group of people.

After viewing security footage of the incident, Roberts wrote he observed one man “forcefully shove/strike [the other man] backward on the shuffle board table.” According to a witness who was later questioned, the man in the video was identified as Schulz.

After further investigation, Roberts wrote that one alleged victim said that he and Schulz had a close relationship until fairly recently. The victim reported to Roberts that after Schulz went through a divorce his behavior had changed in ways the person called “disturbing.”

The victim told Roberts that he unexpectedly ran into Schulz at the restaurant, where Schulz later tried to start up a conversation. According to Roberts’ report, the victim claimed that he told Schulz he didn’t want to talk to him “because [Schulz] was clearly intoxicated.” The fight started soon after.

The victim told Roberts that at one point during the disturbance after people tried to pull the men apart, he saw Schulz put his hands on another person’s throat; he also described seeing red marks on that person’s throat once Schulz had been pulled off the second person.

Roberts’ report states that photos emailed to him by a second alleged victim show a person with “significant red marks and scratches on both sides of his neck consistent with his account.”

After speaking with Schulz, Roberts wrote that Schulz claimed that the group of people had antagonized him earlier in the night leading to the fight and told Roberts that “nice guys finish last.”

Roberts wrote that “Schulz’s partial account…did not match the video surveillance segments that I observed, the account of the manager, the account of the victim, or the accounts of either of the witnesses.”

Schulz appeared in court on May 17 where the state declined to prosecute the case. According to a report from Meghan Friedmann of Hearst Connecticut, “State Prosecutor Jeffrey Doskos, who was handling the case, told the court his office tried to reach out to the complainant but had not received a response. Doskos also had seen documentation indicating Schulz had undergone treatment, he said.”

The Internal Report

Spera instructed Captain Jeffrey DePerry to conduct an internal investigation into the Schulz’s actions. The report was completed on March 31 and made available to the Harbor News on May 24.

In DePerry’s report much of what had previously been reported was not disputed. Schulz admitted to having had a lot to drink at his birthday party held earlier in the day before even arriving at the Essex restaurant where he continued to drink more. He can be seen on camera initiating verbal contact in the pool table area.

What is unclear, according to DePerry’s report, is who initiated physical contact. As Spera noted in his letter to the commission, “[DePerry’s] review was conducted using multiple angles. The State Police’s criminal investigation utilized solely the pool/recreation room camera.”

DePerry also interviewed 16 witnesses who gave conflicting reports of who started physical contact.

According to the report, Schulz does push one victim and for the next 43 seconds a brawl ensued. DePerry wrote that during the course of the altercation, Schulz threw no closed-fist punches but was punched, pushed, grabbed, and choked at different points by multiple people before the fight was broken up.

In a document sent to the police commission on April 6, Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera wrote that “To say the least, Patrolman Schulz’s off duty conduct and subsequent arrest are of great disappointment and embarrassment for our agency. He has brought shame and discredit to the department...”

In determining what discipline Schulz should face, Spera wrote, “I also spent time considering if Patrolman Schulz were to continue his law enforcement career, would he be able to do so effectively? Would he be able to meet workplace expectations, is it possible for him to reassimilate with his peers and gain their trust and respect, and could the Old Saybrook community trust him once again as one of their guardians?”

Spera said the answer to those questions “rest solely with Patrolman Schulz” and noted that his emotional and psychological well being must be assessed as well as the trust of the public, his peers, and superiors relearned.

However, Spera wrote that Schulz should be given the chance to try and regain that trust.

“These tasks may not be easy or swift. However, I feel strongly that we must allow him, should he desire, an unbarred opportunity to do so. As society and the law enforcement community embrace a ‘Second Chance Society’ practice, police officers, who do not violate the Police Accountability Act, should have the same opportunities, as any citizen has, to rehabilitate their personal and professional selves,” Spera wrote.