Police Commission

POLICE COMMISSIONERS, BOARD OF
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS

Section 1.  Police Department.
There shall continue to remain in existence a permanent Police Department of the Town of Stonington whose members shall serve the people.  The members of the said Police Department shall have all the authority vested upon members of the Police Department by the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut, as those Statutes may be amended from time to time, for the service of process and the enforcement of all applicable statutes, rules, ordinances, regulations and other laws.

Section 2.  Establishment of Board of Police Commissioners.
There is established a Board of Police Commissioners (hereinafter referred to as the "Board").  Such Board shall consist of five (5) electors, all of whom shall be resident taxpayers of the Town of Stonington (hereinafter individually referred to as "commissioner" and collectively as "commissioners").  At no time shall more than three (3) commissioners be members of the same political party.  For purposes of this ordinance, a person shall be deemed to be a member of the political party on whose enrollment list his name appears on the date of his appointment as a commissioner, provided any person who has applied for erasure or transfer of his name from an enrollment list shall be considered a member of the party from whose list he has so applied for erasure of transfer for a period of six (6) months from the date of filing of such application.  Each commissioner shall be appointed by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Stonington in conformity with Sections 3 & 4 of this ordinance.  All commissioners shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their duties and shall serve without compensation, but their actual expenses and disbursements incurred in the performance of their duties shall be paid from the Town treasury.

Section 3.  Appointment of Commissioners.
Within sixty (60) days following the date on which this ordinance shall become effective pursuant to Section 9 hereof, the said Board of Selectmen shall appoint one (1) commissioner to serve for one (1) year, one (1) commissioner to serve for two (2) years, one (1) commissioner to serve for three (3) years, one (1) commissioner to serve for four (4) years and one (1) commissioner to serve for five (5) years, and until their successors shall be nominated and shall have qualified.  Upon the expiration of the term of a commissioner the said Board of Selectmen shall appoint a qualified person to fill that commissioner's unexpired portion of his term of office.  No commissioner shall be appointed to more than one (1) term of office of five (5) years.  However, nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to prohibit the appointment by the Board of Selectmen of a person otherwise qualified as a commissioner if that person had not been a commissioner for a period of five (5) years or more prior to the date of his appointment or to a term of office of five (5) years if that person had been previously appointed to fill another person's unexpired portion of his term of office.
        
Section 4.  Restrictions on Commissioners.
No person otherwise qualified may be or may remain a commissioner if:  (1) he is or becomes during his term of office as a police commissioner, an active regular, supernumerary, reserve or special member of the Police Department of the Town of Stonington; or (2) he was at any time during the five  years prior to the date on which he would have been appointed a commissioner, a regular, supernumerary, reserve or civilian member of the said police department; provided, however, that not more than one former regular, supernumerary, reserve or civilian member of the said Police Department of the Town of Stonington may serve as a commissioner at any one time; or (3) he is or becomes during his term of office as a commissioner an elected officer of the Town of Stonington; or (4) he is or becomes during his term of office as a commissioner appointed to any office, commission or other board of the Town of Stonington; or (5) he is or becomes during his term of office as a commissioner a member of either the Democratic Town Committee of the Town of Stonington, or the Republican Town Committee of the Town of Stonington. The insertion of civilian in (2) shall apply only to appointments made after adoption of the ordinance amendment.  

Section 5.  Meetings of Board.
The Board shall elect one (1) commissioner to be chairman and one (1) commissioner to be clerk and shall hold regular meetings and keep records of the same.  Meetings shall be held upon the call of the chairman or of a majority of the commissioners.  A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum.
                                                                
Section 6.  Powers of Board.
The Board (a) shall have all the powers given by the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut to boards of police commissioners, as those Statutes may be amended from time to time; (b) shall have general management and supervision of the Police Department of the Town of Stonington and of the property and equipment used in connection therewith; and (c) shall make all needful regulations for the government thereof not contrary to law and may prescribe suitable penalties for the violation of any such regulation, including suspension or removal from office of any officer or member of the said Police Department.  The Board shall have the sole power of appointment, promotion and removal of the officers and members of the said Police Department, under such regulations as it adopts for the purpose, and such appointees shall hold office during good behavior and until removed for cause upon written charges and after hearing or until retired.

Section 7.  Hearing Prior to Dismissal of Police Department Head. Appeal.
No active head of the Police Department of the Town of Stonington shall be dismissed unless he has been given notice in writing of the specific grounds for such dismissal and an opportunity to be heard in his own defense, personally or by counsel, at a public hearing before the Board.  Such public hearing shall be held not less than five (5) nor more than ten (10) days after such notice.  Any person so dismissed may appeal in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes Section 7-278, and in any other manner that may, from time to time, be provided by applicable law.

Section 8.  Severability.
If for any reason any provision hereof shall be inoperative or invalid, the validity and effect of the other provisions hereof shall not be affected thereby.

Section 9.  Effective Date.
This amended Ordinance shall become effective fifteen days after publication in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of Stonington.

Adopted  November 5, 1974
Amended  January 17, 2001 Section 4
Effective February 15, 2001