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Middletown police chief reports K‑9 addition, $213,000 overtime shortfall and proposed Cromwell range MOU
Summary
At the June 15 Middletown Public Safety Commission meeting, Chief Kosteck announced a new K‑9 team, reported a roughly $213,000 overtime deficit and explained a contemplated memorandum of understanding to let Cromwell Police use the city firing range for four annual training days.
Chief Kosteck briefed the Middletown Public Safety Commission on June 15, 2026, saying the police department added a K‑9 team and is managing budget pressures while pursuing a possible range-sharing memorandum with Cromwell Police.
The chief announced, “Officer Ryan Newman is our newest graduate from the Connecticut State Police K‑9 Academy. His dog Sonar is our newest officer,” saying the German shepherd will work day shift with the handler. He also noted Officer Brendan Spencer received the Exchange Club’s Officer of the Year award for Connecticut for 2026.
Kosteck told commissioners the department’s overtime replacement line was “at, or about $213,000 in the red” at the end of May and that roughly $265,000 remained in the overall police budget going into June. He said staff expect to reassess appropriations and aim to have budget issues rectified by late July or by the September meeting if needed. Separately, Kosteck said private-duty revenue had a council-inserted $750,000 delta that the department has exceeded and that the revenue line is positive.
The chief provided monthly program updates: the PAL and cadet programs continue, a local barber partnership rewards students with haircuts for good grades, a boxing program runs under Officer Santiago, and SROs will be reassigned from schools at the end of the school year to support summer programming. When Councilman Sweeney asked how families sign up, Kosteck said program pages are on the police department website and named Officer Blum as the cadet coordinator; he gave the cadet age range as 14 to 21 and said PAL policy is under review to focus on middle‑school‑age youth.
Kosteck summarized operations and accountability items: the department logged 605 criminal investigations in the prior month, 130 resulted in arrests, there were three DUIs and 197 traffic stops. He described an annual accreditation review that examines policies and procedures and said statewide policy changes are affecting pursuits, body‑worn cameras and the use and data sharing of city camera systems. He added the department is finalizing contracts for a first‑response drone and “hoping we may get funding for that first year,” but that the drone program and funding are not yet finalized and must go through additional approvals.
Under new business, Kosteck reported Cromwell Police Chief Penn contacted Middletown seeking access to the city’s firearms range after Berlin reduced its availability. Kosteck said Cromwell requested four days of annual training; the department would require an MOU, the partnership would be vetted with FBI partners as appropriate, and Cromwell would bring its own equipment and ammunition.
The commission had no public commenters on agenda items. Commissioners approved the May 18, 2026, minutes by voice vote and moved to adjourn; the meeting ended at 6:50 p.m.
