Det. Michael Fusco used to draw pictures on the white board in the Shelton Police Department’s detective bureau. Now he’s drawing composite sketches of crime suspects.
After attending training sessions on drawing faces, Fusco has become the department’s composite sketch artist.
For the past year, he has lent his services to area police departments looking to catch criminals on the loose.
Fusco said he draws about one or two suspect sketches each month for high profile crimes, such as robberies, murders and rapes.
Two of the seven people he has sketched have been arrested, and the mug shots look remarkably close to Fusco’s composite sketches.
Tuesday, Fusco sat down with the Valley Independent Sentinel to talk about the transition and his new role in solving crimes.
Click on the video to see him talk about the process, or read on to see how Fusco became the department’s composite sketch artist.
Valley Indy: How long does it take you to draw one sketch?
Det. Fusco: My first one was probably about four hours. But now I’ve gotten real good at it, so I can do it in about two and a half hours, two hours, depending on how many witnesses there are.
Valley Indy: I noticed you don’t sign your real name.
Det. Fusco: Who told you that? I don’t know, it’s a signature I guess.
Valley Indy: What does it say? Michael Carl? Is that your middle name?
Det. Fusco: That’s my middle name. I’m an artist, I’m embarrassed…You have to have a cool signature. That’s what it’s all about.
Valley Indy: I heard rumors you used to draw a lot on the board?
Det. Fusco: That’s not a rumor. That’s how I got to go to this class. My sergeant decided that since I have such a great time drawing characters up on the board, I might as well send you to something good, get you to art school to learn how to do this stuff. So he brought it to my attention and said would you like to do it? I said yeah I’ll do it.
Valley Indy: What would you draw on the board?
Det. Fusco: Things. I would draw characters of people in the detective bureau and stuff. Stupid stuff. (Drawing composite sketches is) keeping me out of trouble.
Valley Indy: Do witnesses have trouble describing what suspects look like?
Det. Fusco: People actually remember a lot more than they think they do. Most everybody will say “I don’t know if I can describe them.” But at the end, they’re pretty well described … People, it’s amazing what they can recall.
Valley Indy: You’ve drawn composite sketches for police departments in Monroe, Ansonia and Derby, as well as Shelton. Does your police department charge those other departments for your services?
Det. Fusco: No. We use some of the resources of the other departments in the area. They use some of our resources. Criminals don’t know any boundaries … Anything we can do to get some bad guys off the streets, it’s worth it.
ValleyIndy: These sketches are the first time some of these witnesses are seeing the suspect again. Is that an emotional situation?
Det. Fusco: Yes. I’ve had reactions from tearing to actual crying. That’s when you know, OK, it’s time to stop.
Valley Indy: Has your outlook on how people look changed since you started your training?
Det. Fusco: I have detailed both your faces in five minutes.
Valley Indy: Can you draw (Valley Indy intern) Josh and I right now?
Det. Fusco: It would take a while. It’s funny because I do look at people different now. I’m always looking at different jaw lines, and lines. It’s really weird.
