Police chief outlines pursuit and crowd‑management policy updates; commission moves to consider approval

The Simsbury police department presented proposed updates to its pursuit and crowd‑management policies, telling commissioners the changes follow new state model language and will be paired with officer training and revised reporting.

The department’s chief explained that the State now restricts pursuing wrong‑way drivers against the flow of traffic and added procedures for supervisors who terminate a pursuit. “When that happens, we would have changed this and go to that form,” the chief said, describing a forthcoming state form to track incidents that would have become pursuits if an officer had chosen to continue. The chief also said supervisors will require officers to disengage emergency devices, stop pursuit, acknowledge termination on the radio and pull safely to check for injuries or crashes before resuming normal driving.

The department removed pit maneuvers from its local policy, noting the tactic is uncommon in Connecticut and ‘‘especially at high speeds, is the use of deadly force,’’ the chief said. The department retained other tactics such as roadblocks and ‘‘boxing in’’ but plans additional training and legal review to guide officers on appropriate use.

Officials also flagged new references in the state models to ‘‘pursuit‑management technology’’ — including remote disabling systems and tracking darts — and said the Simsbury department does not currently use those tools.

The chief reported staffing updates alongside the policy discussion: the department is actively recruiting for sworn officer vacancies and one dispatch position; Officer Jamie Ball has been reassigned from community services to patrol to cover shortages; and recruit Emily Nato entered the Police Academy in January 2026 and is expected to finish field training in late October or early November. The department also announced a public shred event on Saturday, June 13, for residents, and that its annual CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) remote review is scheduled for June 19–27, coordinated by Deputy Chief Chris Davis and accreditation specialist Christina Delgado.

After discussion and questions from commissioners about definitions (for example, what constitutes a ‘‘family offense, nonviolent’’ or an ‘‘uninvestigated motor vehicle accident’’), Commissioner 1 moved to approve the proposed updates to General Order 41‑05 and the related crowd‑management order. The motion was seconded. The transcript records a call for approval and at least one vocal ‘‘No’’ after a reply of ‘‘All,’’ but the excerpt does not include a complete roll‑call or final tally for the motion.

The department said paperwork will be revised to mark incidents where officers attempted to stop a vehicle but did not pursue, and the state form will allow tracking of those cases for future review and reporting. The CALEA review and planned training were presented as next steps for implementing the policy changes.

The correspondence read earlier in the meeting included a letter from Jonathan Yazzie on behalf of the Special Olympics Simsbury team thanking Simsbury Police Chief Nick Bolter for visiting the team tent at the June 6, 2026, Special Olympics Connecticut track and field games and for participation in the law enforcement torch run.

Next steps recorded in the transcript: commissioners discussed the motion to approve policy updates and the department indicated it will provide training and updated paperwork; the transcript excerpt does not record a definitive vote count or an implementation date for the new language.