Re: 5/30/00 - Chief puts New Haven Police Detective and Sergeant on administrative leave
[Revised AP report]
Chief puts New Haven Police Detective and Sergeant on administrative leave
(New Haven-AP, May 30, 2000) _ The head of the city detective unit and a police sergeant were put on paid leave Tuesday as probes continue into the mishandling of a murder investigation.
Watch Kristen Cusato's report from News Channel 8 at 6 p.m.
video.wtnh.com
Watch Leon Collin's live interview with Cusick's brother from News Channel 8 at 6 p.m.
video.wtnh.com
An internal investigation and a grand jury investigation are focusing on allegations that New Haven police withheld information from North Haven police in the shooting death of Philip Cusick in 1996.
Chief Melvin H. Wearing placed Capt. Brian Sullivan and Sgt. Edward Kendall on administrative paid leave.
"Information provided by both men during an internal investigation calls into question the integrity and credibility of how the case was handled," Wearing said.
The chief said that result of the investigation so far suggests that "there was information which should have been turned over to North Haven police."
Police suspect Cusick was shot in New Haven and his body was dumped in front of his parents' North Haven home. North Haven police have made no arrests.
The Hartford Courant has reported that one suspect is the half brother of Arosmo Diaz, a police informant and Latin Kings gang member.
Diaz was killed along with Tyler White, the son of New Haven Police Lt. William White, in a gang-related shooting in Bridgeport in 1994.
White's detective work helped dismantle the Latin Kings street gang five years ago, in part using tips from Diaz.
Diaz was killed because of his links to the authorities, while Tyler White was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, the Courant reported, citing sources it did not identify.
Two years after Cusick was killed, two New Haven police officers interviewed an informant who said he heard gunshots and saw Diaz's half brother running down the street saying, "I got him. I got him."
The informant was not clear on the date of the incident or who was shot. He did not claim to have seen the shooting.
The tape was given to supervisors and placed in the police department's evidence room. It was never turned over to North Haven police and is now lost.
A transcript of the tape was found in the desk drawer of Kendall, one of the officers placed on leave Tuesday.
According to reports in the New Haven Register, Kendall at first told investigators he got sidetracked by other murder investigations and an illness and forgot to send the transcript to North Haven police.
Last week, the Register reported Kendall changed his story to internal investigators.
Kendall this time said he was told by Sullivan, the other officer placed on leave, not to continue the investigation, under orders of Wearing, the police chief. He said he took this to mean he should take no further action on the case.
Sullivan has told internal investigators that he and Wearing decided in 1998 not to pursue the case further, but to turn over any evidence to North Haven police.
New Britain Superior Court Judge Carmen Espinosa has also been taking testimony in the case as grand juror.
wtnh.com
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Text of Kristen Cusato's report:
Ann Nyberg: A major shakeup within the New Haven Police Department. Two supervisors are on paid leave tonight following an internal investigation. The police probe began after allegations of a cover-up involving a 1996 murder. News Channel 8 has team coverage for you tonight. Leon Collins has reaction from the murder victim's family, but we begin with Kristen Cusato live from the New Haven Police Department. Kristen...
Kristen Cusato: Well Ann, the police chief, Mel Wearing, put these two men from the detectives bureau on administrative paid leave because of statements they made during an internal investigation, and Chief Wearing said this action was necessary to preserve the integrity of the police department.
The supervisor of the Investigative Services Unit of the New Haven Police Department, Captain Brian Sullivan, and the head of the Bureau of Identification, Ed Kendall, have been placed on administrative leave with pay for their alleged roles in the mishandling of a 1996 murder investigation. The police union said this move by the police chief is putting the cart before the horse.
Sgt Louis Cavalier: It's just inappropriate. They've not been charged. They've not been found guilty of anything and the results of the investigation could clear them 100% so why put that cloud over their head?
Cusato: The police chief said Sullivan and Kendall's presence is putting a dark cloud over the police department. There are rumors and infighting while Internal Affairs looks into the murder investigation of Philip Cusick, a man who police believe was shot in New Haven, his body left in front of his North Haven home. According to New Haven Chief Wearing, quote "Information provided by both men during an internal investigation calls into question the integrity and credibility of how the case was handled and suggests there was information which should have been turned over to North Haven Police." End quote.
CMSR John Einhorn: I think the Chief's concern is that at this point, ahh, because they are essentially targets in the investigation they really can't effectively serve in the Detective's Department but it's not meant to be an accusation in any way.
Cusato: Police Commissioner John Einhorn says there are two investigations here: the grand jury is looking into misconduct at the police department, and the department is looking at themselves.
Einhorn: A Grand Jury could find that evidence was intentionally mishandled. It could find, ahh, that certain members of the department, ahh, had a motive perhaps for doing that. But we're speculating at this point and we really don't know.
Cavalier: The Chief himself has been implemented [sic] in this investigation. Statements have been given that information could have come from him himself. Is he going to relieve himself of duty?
Cusato: Well, the Police Union said they will file a grievance against the police department for disciplining the officers without just cause. Then Mayor John DeStefano released a statement as well today saying he is satisfied with the pace and direction of the police department internal values and ethics unit investigation. Now remaining to be reminded about is what lies beneath this police department bombshell, and that is the fact that the four year old murder of Philip Cusick remains unsolved. |
