Four Stonington Public Works employees will not be disciplined after an investigation showed they staged photos of syringes in a local park that caused “alarm” in community.
STONINGTON — Four town Public Works employees who were caught on video staging photos of syringes at a local park in April will not be charged or disciplined, officials said.
“They acknowledged they used poor judgment,” First Selectwoman Danielle Chesebrough said. “They admitted they made a mistake. There is nothing in a union environment you can do for poor judgment.”
Stonington police launched an investigation after the photos were sent to local resident Chris Donahue, who posted them on Facebook to draw attention to what he felt was potential illegal drug activity at the park named after his father, a long-time firefighter. The photos were taken at Donahue Park on the anniversary of his father’s death, Chesebrough said.
The Public Works employees did not provide an explanation to police why they staged the photos aside from complaining about having to collect syringes in the area of the park and not having confidence the drug activity would be investigated.
In an interview with police, Donahue said he regretted posting the photos online and “wishes now that he handled it differently and just called (police) to address the issue,” according to the investigation report.
The Facebook post prompted Police Chief Jay DelGrosso to initiate an investigation and request additional park patrols, which turned up little criminal activity, the report stated.
Town video surveillance cameras showed the four Public Works employees arriving at the park gazebo around 11 a.m. on April 27. One of the employees can be seen motioning to the others that they are on camera. There is no sound, but a second employee is then seen taking several syringes out of a clear container and placing them on the gazebo floor to be photographed.
The video then shows the employees scooping up and placing the syringes back in the container. Police were not able to determine who took the syringes or where they wound up after the men photographed the items, the investigation report said.
“The actions of these public works employees also interfered with our ability to send the syringes to the state lab to test for heroin,” Lt. Michael Peckham wrote in the report.
The four employees admitted they found the syringes at various locations near the park, including a dumpster at a restaurant, the report said. But workers also said they did not find the syringes at the gazebo, which is what the photos implied. The report provides no explanation why the workers collected the syringes and placed them in the gazebo to be photographed.
The police report indicated officers were immediately suspicious of the photos since some included syringes that appeared to be filled with liquid, which likely would not have been discarded by a person who is addicted to opioids.
The employees told officers there is no Public Works protocol for dealing with syringes and “the feeling among most of the town workers was that if they called police to report the needles that nothing would be done about addressing the issue.”
In the report, Peckman contended the conduct of the town employees should be reviewed since the person who sent the photos to Donahue “created undue annoyance and alarm to (the) community and created undue mistrust.”
But Chesebrough said town officials decided to not punish the employees after speaking with them and the director of Public Works.
“They made a poor emotional decision,” Chesebrough said.