City Moving Foward With Discipline Hearing Against Two Officers

City officials will continue to press forward with discipline hearings against two Meriden police officers accused of using factually inaccurate information in complaints against Officer Evan Cossette and the Meriden Police Department.

Officers Brian Sullivan and Donald Huston will still face disciplinary hearings due to a Meriden Police Department internal affairs finding that the two had violated multiple department policies, officials confirmed Monday.

City Manager Lawrence Kendzior and Director of Personnel Caroline Beitman told the Record-Journal that the hearings remain on schedule.

“The IA investigation found that a number of policies were violated,” Kendzior was quoted as saying in the Record Journal. “Proceeding with a hearing on what, if any, disciplinary action is merited is part of routine procedure. The city’s goal is to treat these IA recommendations just as we would any other IA investigation, by conducting a fair and impartial hearing.”

The two officers initially filed the complaint in 2010 after each received disciplinary action, but an investigation by Det. Lt. Mark Walerysiak completed in May 2012 found several of the allegations were untrue.

The two-part complaint had alleged widespread misconduct throughout the department, including a pattern of abuse by Evan Cossette, son of Police Chief Jeffry Cossette. Evan Cossette was convicted last week of police brutality against Pedro Temich in 2010.

Attorney Frank Cannatelli told the Record-Journal that the city violated procedure by releasing the findings of the internal affairs report without first notifying the officers, while Attorney Salvatore Bonnano, representing Huston, indicated that the Cossette conviction brings merit to the two officers’ complaints.

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