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Chief reports staffing gains, CALEA assessor visit, records renovation and a $5,000 overtime cut
Summary
At the March 10 Simsbury Police Commission meeting, commissioners were briefed on a $5,000 cut to the department overtime line, recent hires and training completions, an on-site CALEA assessor visit, records-room renovations and digitization plans, and short-term crime statistics.
Commissioners received a summary March 10 of staffing changes, budget actions, an accreditation review visit and facilities upgrades at a regular meeting of the Simsbury Police Commission.
Commissioner Caulfield said the town budget process cut $5,000 from the department’s overtime allocation. She said the chief and the town manager asked for a caveat that the department would continue to respond to calls as needed and seek an appropriation from the Board of Selectmen if the overtime budget were depleted; the item will go before the Board of Finance for its report and recommendation.
Chief Davis provided personnel and operations updates. Officer Nick Laganagro completed the field training and evaluation program Feb. 26 and has been assigned to the patrol division’s midnight shift. Officer Mario Maiorano is expected to finish training within about a week and move to patrol soon. A lateral hire, Officer Jack Butler, who transferred from the Hartford Police Department, started the day of the meeting; Davis said Butler is expected to complete initial training around July. The department currently has five officers on extended leave; the chief said he expects one to return full time in April.
The commission heard that retired Assistant Police Chief Eric Kearns is serving this week as an on-site assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) as part of the department’s four-year review. Chief Davis described the current accreditation process as largely remote with an on-site assessor conducting interviews, facility inspections and ride-alongs during the visit; Kearns’ schedule included a ride-along, meetings with commission members and tours of department facilities.
Officials also updated the commission on a records-room renovation and digitization project. Electrical work in the active records area is complete, the department is finalizing storage-unit purchases for the storage area and staff are awaiting an information-technology quote for proposed digitization hardware and equipment.
The Citizens Police Academy began last week and is scheduled to run Wednesdays for nine weeks; Davis said 12 to 13 people had signed up. Commissioners raised questions about a month-to-month increase in reported DUI detentions; the chief said one weekend accounted for five people being held in the town holding facility and that the cases were not related. Commissioners also discussed that one assault reported across two monthly reports appears to be the same incident, not separate ongoing incidents.
The meeting opened with a summary of correspondence: a resident forwarded a letter thanking Sergeant Cushman and Officer Gray for their care and professionalism while responding to a medical call involving the resident’s child; the letter included the line, “thanks for all you do for our community.”
Commissioners briefly discussed the April meeting date, noting April 14 falls during spring break; the commission tentatively discussed moving the next meeting to a later date (participants referenced the 20th as an option). The commission approved the Feb. 10 regular meeting minutes and later moved to adjourn.
Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes, Feb. 10, 2025: Motion to approve moved and seconded; approved by voice vote (roll-call tally not specified). - Adjourn: Motion moved and seconded; carried by voice vote (roll-call tally not specified).
