Seymour Police Department Youth Officer Joe DeNigris is getting promoted to detective sergeant — and deserves it, anyone who spoke about him at Thursday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting said.
“Joe’s always done a fantastic job as a youth officer over the years and I think that he will fit in for that position very well,” board of police commissioners member Steve Chucta said while discussing DeNigris, who is in his 19th year on the force and has been the department’s youth officer since March 2001.
Commissioners voted to promote DeNigris 3 – 2 after what several of them said was a difficult decision between two finalists.
Another reason the decision was so difficult: the department’s current detective sergeant, Ronald Goodmaster, will be suing the town to stay on the job past his state-mandated retirement date of March 8, 2013 — the day before DeNigris’ promotion becomes effective.
The commissioners voted 3 – 2 to promote DeNigris, with McConologue, Chucta, and Frank Conroy voting in favor, and James Simpson and John Popik voting against. Simpson and Popik had earlier voted to promote Detective Brian Anderson.
Click the play button to see the vote.
Background
Goodmaster will be obligated to retire March 8 because that’s when he turns 65, according to state law.
He wants to stay on the job a year and four months past that date in order to reach 25 years of employment with the town and max out his pension.
In September he asked the Board of Police Commissioners to extend his employment with the town for a year — which is as much as they can at one time.
Police Commissioners approved that request Sept. 13.
But that action was ruled null and void after a town attorney concluded the police commission had overstepped its authority and said only the Board of Selectmen could issue an extension.
Goodmaster then petitioned the Selectmen — but they rejected his request by a 5 – 1 vote this month after a back-and-forth debate that lasted about 45 minutes.
In the days after the vote, Goodmaster’s lawyer, Bill Palmieri, vowed to sue the town on the grounds that the police commissioners’ previous extension of Goodmaster should stand. He also said he might file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the mandatory-retirement law.
New Complaint
The issue didn’t get any less thorny Thursday.
The meeting began with a Bassett Road resident, Joan Gee, saying the commission was acting irresponsibly by moving forward with the promotion.
“Is it necessary to file an FOI complaint?” she said repeatedly in reference to questions she had over the denial of Goodmaster’s request and the legal costs to the town from previous disputes with him.
Immediately afterward, Goodmaster announced he has filed an FOI complaint — but one that accused the commission of illegally conducting an executive session at a Nov. 8 meeting where candidates for the promotion were interviewed.
Goodmaster said Police Chief Michael Metzler and Lt. Paul Satkowski shouldn’t have been allowed in the executive session while candidates were being interviewed.
Click the play button below to see Goodmaster read his complaint.
Goodmaster’s complaint referenced a previous clash he had with the commission before the Freedom of Information Commission.
He had been subject to disciplinary action in recent years — and had even been demoted — but he fought back through a series of grievances and complaints. One complaint alleged age discrimination.
He eventually negotiated an agreement with the town that saw him reinstated as Detective Sergeant. Two suspensions against him were also reversed.
Click here to read his agreement with the town.
After the meeting, McConologue said she wasn’t concerned about the new complaint.
“That’s up to FOI to figure out,” she said. ​“I’m sure when they take a look at it they will question (Goodmaster’s) intent.”
McConologue said she isn’t concerned about the lawsuit promised by Goodmaster’s lawyer, either.
“He can sue all he wants, we have to follow the law,” she said. ​“And my perception is we are following the law. The Board of Selectmen made a decision — according to the law — creating a vacancy and then we moved forward to fill that vacancy.”
Even if Goodmaster’s lawsuit is successful, she said, the department can handle having two detective sergeants.
“One will be the senior detective sergeant and the other will be a detective sergeant,” she said.
Asked if that would be odd in a department with three detectives, she said: ​“They probably would work something out where both of them would not be there at the exact same time.”
She said she thinks Goodmaster is a good person, but is wrong in this case.
“I see him on the street, I talk to him, I saw hello, I like the gentleman,” she said. ​“When we made the decision to demote him, I did not particularly care for what he did. But that doesn’t mean I dislike the man.”
Asked about DeNigris, she praised his track record with the town and said he’ll be a good fit in his new role.
“He’s had a lot of experience in solving cases and working with the detective unit,” she said. ​“And I feel he’s well-regarded in the community.”
McConologue pointed to the half-hour the commission spent in executive session discussing the the two finalists and said both were qualified.
“It was a very difficult decision. It could have gone either way, because both of them are outstanding people,” she said. ​“Each of them had outstanding skills that they bring to the table.”
DeNigris was happy after the vote.
“I’m excited about it and I’m looking forward to getting started in March,” he said.
