Darien Police Commission Q1 '22 Meeting Notes from April 1, 2022

This summary was prepared by Darien Police Chief Donald B. Anderson on 4/01/2022 and published by DarienCTNews by Blaine Hurty on 4/24/2022.

Darien Police Chief Donald AndersonDarien Police DepartmentBlaine Hurty

Quarter In Review

• In late December 2021, the Department’s payroll/scheduling software (Kronos’ “Workforce TeleStaff”) sustained a global ransomware attack and was inaccessible until early February.
• The Department saw a number of personnel changes during the quarter: Officer Cristian Fiscella resigned from the Department on January 1, after four years of service. Also on January 1, Sergeant Mark Cirillo retired after (28) years with the Department. On February 1, Captain Robert Shreders retired after (31) years of service and Officer T. Courtney Isaac retired after (25) years of service.
• On January 14, the Department hired its newest officer, Craig Jarvis. Jarvis was sworn in and began his (26) week training program at the CT Police Academy, to be followed by three additional months of field training.
• In early February, members of the Honor Guard represented the Department at the funerals of NYPD Detectives Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, NY.
• On February 17th, Norwalk Police Department awarded a Unit Citation to members of the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team, for the team’s role in a September 2020 domestic violence incident which involved a male suspect barricading himself in a residence and threatening the use of weapons against responding police officers. After a six hour standoff, the incident was brought to a safe and successful conclusion. Along with his role as the Middlesex Middle School S.R.O., Officer Stuart Schwengerer is also a member of the SWRERT and he responded to this incident. As a result, Ofc. Schwengerer received the Unit Citation for his efforts.
• In January, the Department hired two civilian dispatch trainees. Both trainees took part in eight week training periods but resigned their positions prior to being fully certified as Police Dispatchers. A third dispatcher will be resigning in April. The Department will seek to hire new civilian dispatchers to fill the three vacancies.
• The Department continues to assist with the safe and efficient flow of traffic at various construction projects in town, notably the Corbin Drive and Heights Road developments.
• On March 24th, the Department hosted the on-site portion of its re-Accreditation application process, which included interviews and tour of headquarters for four State assessors. The Department is a State of CT, Tier II accredited agency and was at the end of its latest four year cycle. The Department is awaiting the assessor’s final results, but the Administration received very positive feedback during this on-site visit.

Notable Incidents

• On December 16, 2020, a Burglary occurred at Woodway Country Club. Reported missing in the incident were several employee paychecks and Amazon gift cards. Darien Detectives investigated the incident and were able to gain video surveillance of the suspect and vehicle used in the incident. Search warrants completed indicated that a bank account associated with the cashed stolen checks belonged to a Stamford resident. Based on the investigation an arrest warrant was completed and granted for the subject. The subject turned herself into the Darien Police for an active arrest warrant in January, 2022.
• On January 16, officers responded to Wee Burn Country Club on a report of an explosion in the building near the bowling area. Prior to Noroton Heights Fire Department Police arrival, the building had been evacuated. It was reported that one individual was injured and transported to the hospital by Post 53; no other injuries were reported. The damage was contained to the bowling area and some surrounding hallways and the cause of the explosion remains under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office.
• On November 15, 2021, officers responded to Althea Lane for a report of a stolen backpack leaf blower. Investigation developed a Norwalk resident as the suspect in the theft. Officers applied for and were granted an arrest warrant and the suspect was arrested on January 18. It should be noted that this same suspect, who has an extensive criminal history, had been arrested by this agency in November for a similar incident.
• On February 25, officers responded to CVS Pharmacy located at 964 Post Road, on a report of a shoplifting incident. Officers quickly located the female suspect less than a block away, who admitted that she stole the items in her possession. She was arrested for Larceny 6th.
• The Department’s Detective Division continues to investigate a series of thefts of catalytic converters from parked motor vehicles. These type of events continue to occur throughout the region.
• In February 2021, the Department had investigated a stolen motor vehicle incident. Through investigatory means, which included the identification of a latent fingerprint from within the recovered vehicle, an arrest warrant was secured for a Hamden, CT resident. On March 3, a Darien officer responded to Stamford Superior Court to serve the arrest warrant on the subject, who was in already in custody on an unrelated criminal charge.
• In July 2019, the Department had investigated a stolen motor vehicle incident, in which the vehicle was later recovered in Harlem, NY. Darien Detectives identified a male subject through investigatory means (the recovery of a latent fingerprint from within the recovered vehicle) and an arrest warrant was granted for the suspect. On March 9, a Darien officer responded to Stamford Superior Court to serve the arrest warrant on the subject, a New York resident, who was in already in custody on an unrelated criminal charge.

Traffic Violation Enforcement

• Traffic Stops: 279 (Previous Qtr: 276)
• DWI Arrests: 6 (16)
• Summons Arrests: 19 (16)
• Infractions: 71 (97) Domestic Incidents
• Domestic Violence Arrests: 7 (6)
• Domestic (non-arrest) Incidents: 9 (10)

False Alarm Ordinance

• Burglar Alarm Activations: 242 (226)
• True Burglar Alarms: 2 (0)
• False Alarms: 192 (164)
• Cancelled Alarms: 37 (56)
• Weather-Related Alarms: 11 (6)

Medical Calls / Other

• Medical Calls for Service: 305 (684)
• Juvenile Review Board Cases: 0 (0)