Family member says Middletown hired officer who killed her mother; asks commission to act

Mirabelle Rodriguez, who identified herself at the Nov. 17 Middletown Public Safety Commission meeting as the eldest daughter of Catherine Colon, urged the commission to take action after the city hired Officer Connor Reich. "The city decided to hire someone who was breaking the law when he killed and hit my mother, Catherine Colon," Rodriguez said during public comment, and she urged the commission to fire the officer and to provide a forum for Middletown residents to speak on the issue.

Rodriguez said community members have emailed the commission and are "pretty disgusted" by the hire; she added that the hiring decision and the department's national accreditation announcement felt at odds in light of her allegations. "We will continue to advocate and talk with community members about this issue," she said, and asked for opportunities to address the council or the public forum.

The transcript shows the comment was made during the public-comment portion of the meeting; no follow-up response from the police chief or a formal action by the commission is recorded in the meeting minutes or audio in the transcript. The commission closed public comment soon afterward and moved to adjourn. The transcript records the commenter’s claims and does not record corroboration or a department rebuttal in this session.

The claim that Officer Connor Reich "was breaking the law" in the crash that killed Catherine Colon is an allegation the commenter attributed to a report; the commission did not adjudicate or rule on that claim during the Nov. 17 meeting. The record in this meeting does not state any disciplinary or hiring review outcome; those matters, if pursued, would be handled through personnel procedures and any applicable investigative or legal processes.