SEYMOUR — The Town of Seymour set aside $50,000 to purchase body cameras for police officers, Seymour Police Chief Paul Satkowski said during a meeting of the town’s police commission Sept. 16.
The police accountability bill adopted by state lawmakers over the summer mandates that towns equip officers with the devices.
Since the bill became law, Chief Satkowski, along with Derby Police Department Chief Gerald Narowski, have warned their respective police commissions that the new rules will require municipalities to spend more money on things such as equipment and data storage.
Satkowski said while the $50,000 will help, more money will be needed.
The Board of Police Commissioners also received an update on criminal activities from Seymour Police Department Deputy Chief Roberto Rinaldi. He said Seymour, along with many other towns along the Route 8 corridor, are seeing a rash of “smash and grab” crimes.
“I know midnights have been busy. We’ve had a bunch of smash and grabs occurring,” Rinaldi said.
The Xtra Mart on Route 67 was hit with such a crime, according to the deputy chief.
The Valley Indy emailed Seymour police Sept. 22 looking for more information on the crimes.
During that same Sept. 16 meeting, Satkowski and Rinadi credited the Seymour patrol officers who saw and reported a fire on Main Street Aug. 29. The officers helped get people out of the building. The fire has been ruled accidental.
The department’s top officers also said detectives are still investigating the car crash on Roosevelt Drive/Route 34 that took the lives of a mother and son in July.
The members of the Seymour Police Commission also held a series of executive session meetings in September that have to do with an email from the state’s attorney’s office. A meeting agenda from September indicate the matter involves Inspector Joseph DeNigris, who has attended the closed-doors meeting with members of the commission, the chiefs, the town’s lawyer, and the police union’s lawyer.
The Valley Indy submitted a Freedom of Information request Sept. 17 asking for a copy of the correspondence. The town acknowledged the request but has not released the document.
