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Mayor defends Torrington's take-home police-vehicle policy and explains staff residency rules after resident's letter
Summary
A resident letter questioned officers' use of take-home cars and city staff living outside Torrington; Mayor Doby outlined the police department's one-to-one vehicle plan, operational benefits, and cited statute requiring elected officials to be city residents but not staff.
Mayor Doby read a written citizen complaint from Jim Allen asking why some Torrington employees live outside city limits and why police officers are allowed to take city vehicles home. The letter requested the city's answers be recorded in the public record.
In response, Mayor Doby described the Torrington Police Department's "one-to-one" vehicle operations plan, which assigns officers individual vehicles that they may take home under agency guidelines. He told the council the department maintains a fleet of 18 assigned vehicles (two CSO vehicles, one detective vehicle, two admin vehicles, two SRO vehicles and 11 patrol vehicles), and said the agency averaged about 6,500 miles per vehicle in 2025.
Doby described the operational benefits of take-home vehicles in a small community: faster emergency response with equipment ready to go, schedule flexibility that avoids overtime, increased visibility that can deter crime, and a recruitment and retention advantage for officers. He said the city does not formally track off-duty emergency responses but recalled four incidents since June 2020 where take-home vehicles provided a significant benefit.
On the residency question, Doby cited state statute (title 22-23-301) requiring municipal officers (the mayor and council) be city residents, but he said there is no statutory or constitutional requirement that city staff live within city limits. He argued that restricting hires to city residents could sharply limit the applicant pool and risk litigation. Council members who spoke during the item said they had researched statutes and found no requirement that staff live in the city.
The mayor said the one-to-one vehicle policy began around 2019 and that Chief Johnson (current chief) started in 2020. Council members commented that allowing staff who live outside the city is a practice aligned with state law and common across municipalities.
The mayor said he would not address specific personnel histories referenced by the letter and limited his remarks to the policy and legal framework. The letter was placed on the public record as requested by the writer.
