A police union lawyer accused three of the five members of the Seymour Police Commission of holding an illegal meeting to discuss the internal affairs probe against Detective Sgt. Ron Goodmaster.
Goodmaster is accused of withholding information about a fugitive living in Seymour.
The fugitive was eventually arrested, but an internal affairs report by Lt. Paul Satkowski says Goodmaster violated several department procedures by not relaying information he had allegedly received about the fugitive.
The members of the Seymour Police Commission were to continue their deliberations on the Goodmaster case Monday night.
However, Richard Gudis, an attorney for the police officer’s union, submitted a motion asking that a new group deliberate the case.
Gudis said that police commissioners Frank Conroy, Lucy McConologue and Stephen Chucta — three of the five police commissioners — held an illegal meeting May 25 at the
town’s senior center.
The letter doesn’t flat out say “illegal meeting,” but the attorney quotes state law on public meetings — and says the rules weren’t followed.
The senior center meeting was not properly noticed, Gudis said. The meeting happened the day after the police commission met in executive session to hear the case against Goodmaster.
“The timing of a meeting between three of the five commissioners the day after a special meeting regarding disciplining Detective Sergeant Ronald Goodmaster is suspect,” Gudis said in the union’s motion for a new hearing.
However, McConologue said the subject of the allegedly illegal meeting was the senior center’s annual picnic.
She’s the director of the senior center. Conroy is a member of the Seymour Land Conservation Trust’s board of directors. The picnic is to be held on land trust property, McConologue said.
The Police Commission quickly adjourned the meeting Monday and rescheduled it for Friday so the town’s attorneys could look into the union’s accusation.
According to Gudis, rumors about the allegedly illegal meeting quickly circulated around the police department.
After Monday’s meeting, Conroy dismissed the rumors.
“I don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said.
Goodmaster and Gudis declined comment after the meeting.
The union’s lawyer is requesting that the entire board recuse itself from deliberating on the matter and that a new board be convened to hear evidence regarding the case, and make any ruling appropriate with the facts.
The following letter was delivered by the police union’s attorney to the Seymour Police Commission Monday night:
1.On Wednesday, May 25, a meeting was held at Lucy McConologue’s office at the Seymour Senior Center. In attendance were Lucy McConologue, Steve Chucta and Frank Conroy.
2.The town of Seymour Board of Police commissioners is subject to the State of CT Freeodom of Information Act.
3.In particular, Sec 1 – 225. Meetings of government agencies to be public. Recording of votes. Schedule and agenda of meetings to be filed. Notice of special meetings. Executive sessions. A public agency may hold an executive session as defined in subdivision 6 of section 1 – 200, upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of such body present and voting, taken at a public meeting and stating the reasons for such executive session, as defined in section 1 – 200.
4.There is no record of a meeting being scheduled.
5.The timing of a meeting between three of the five commissioners the day after a special meeting regarding disciplining Det. Sgt. Ronald Goodmaster is suspect.
6.Shortly after the meeting on May 25, rumors began to circulate throughout the Seymour Police department regarding what the Police Commissioners intended to do regarding the discipline of Ronald Goodmaster.
7.The rumors are attributed to Frank Conroy.
The union requests that the entire board recuse itself from deliberating on (the matter) and that a new board be convened to hear evidence regarding (the matter) and make any ruling appropriate with the facts.
