A Derby police officer faces disciplinary action Monday, according to an agenda of the Derby Board of Police Commissioners.
The commission has scheduled a 4 p.m. Monday meeting at the police department to take up the fate of Officer Jordan Gochros.
Gochros was subject to an internal affairs investigation, the results of which will be shared, presumably, with the commission.
The officer faced three misdemeanor criminal charges last year in connection to a domestic incident during which he allegedly hit a woman.
Monday’s meeting is connected to that incident. Gochros was suspended without pay immediately after charges were filed.
The Valley Indy requested access to the internal affairs report Friday morning, and reached out to the officer through social media.
The state’s Freedom of Information Commission has repeatedly ruled internal affairs reports are public documents, but the employee must be notified of the request for access.
The state’s online judicial database indicates Gochros’ criminal case is within the court’s family violence program. If defendants complete the program successfully, a judge will usually dismiss criminal charges. An attorney for Gochros is not listed.
The court calendar indicates the case could be resolved May 29, 2018.
The police commission agenda calls for an “executive session” for “discussion concerning matters at issue and information and evidence to be presented” in connection to the internal affairs report.
Executive sessions are closed to the public. They are allowed under certain circumstances, such as when discussing a specific employee.
Gochros, who has been a Derby police officer since 2002, has the option to have the hearing held in public.
Any vote — including the vote to go in to executive session — must be taken in public.
The commission has lots of leeway when it comes to disciplining officers. It ranges from taking no action to firing the officer.
Finally, under the union contract, the commissioners could take up to 30 days to decide Gochros’ fate.
The police commission members are appointed officials of a public agency. They do no work for the police department. They are a civilian oversight board, subject to the rules of the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
