Cop Fired For Excessive Force

Law Enforcement, News and Events31 Comments

From Dan Tepfer, Tara O’Neill, CT Post:

One city police officer was fired Thursday and a sergeant was deducted 30 paid holidays earlier this week after they were found to have used excessive force by the city’s internal affairs office during and after a 2017 backyard party on Colorado Avenue.

In a 5-to-2 vote Thursday night, the Police Commission voted to terminate Officer Michael Stanitis, according to Dan Roach, chairman of the commission. He said he could not comment on the details of the decision.

Sgt. Paul Scillia was deducted 30 paid holidays. Earlier this week, Roach acknowledged that the holidays being deducted from Scillia will be taken from “a number” he has banked.

In terms of Stanitis, who joined the city’s police force in April 2011, the union said in a statement late Thursday night that the fight isn’t over.

Full story here.

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31 comments

  1. How about the conflicting statements in the final report by OIA? I am willing to bet just about anything that this cop lawyers up, proves he was wrongfully terminated, and gets his job back. All while the city settles again with back pay and lost wages with punitive damages. Congrats Bridgeport, you made him rich.

    Its amazing, Blackwell sent out racist letters and gets promoted to captain with a $60,000 lawsuit settlement. A white cops is victim to a witch hunt caused by criminals and he gets fired. This city is showing its true colors.

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  2. Wait a minute, this incident happen in 2017 and it took three years to take action against these two police officers. “Video obtained by The Connecticut Post through a Freedom of Information request showed Scillia striking a man in a wheelchair in the face in the booking area of the Police Department following the man’s arrest.,” are you kidding me, both men should have been fired. Dysfunctional is what the Bridgeport Police Department and Police Commission are but what did former D.C and Philly Police Chief said in his review of the BPD? You mean that this is one of the reason why David Dunn hlped AJ Perez cheated on the police chief exam so that Mayor Ganim would keep this dysfunction going in the BPD. How could the taxpayers of Bridgeport have any confdence in the BPD and Mayour Ganim.

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    1. I mean Eneida Martinez literally aided in the death of a young man in our city and yet she’s still on the board…. are you surprised? This whole city needs to go under the direct control of the FEDS. We are to incompetent to vote in a worthy leader and too stupid to give another party a chance.

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        1. In this city we are so BLINDED by red or blue rather than the background of the candidate. We worry so much that the person running is a democrat than the values that they are pushing. Listen, Ive been a long time democrat, because its all I knew growing up in Bridgeport. To be fair its not done much more than make the city a public mockery. Maybe and I’m saying Maybe we start paying attention more when someone like Dishon Francis is on the stage. Marilyn Moore only ran in another party because she lost to Joe in the primary. We are so blindsided by blue or red we don’t care for values of other candidates. And if your concern is Donald Trump, that’s fair, but not all republican are like Donald Trump. Quite frankly your current democratic mayor is very good friend with 45. I’m just saying maybe we ought to start paying attention in other directions, not necessarily jump the gun right away, but give them more thought in the process than we are currently doing.

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  3. Jo Salling I’m outraged and appalled that you would have the temerity, the unmitigated gaul to compare a racist letter with the striking of a handicap man in a wheelchair! Thank God he didn’t kill him because he would have gotten off like so many other white cops. I bet you found humor in your president making fun of the handicap man several years ago. Everyone associated with this incident should have been fired, not just his punk ass who assaulted a man in a wheelchair. What’s the chances of this malcontent moving to another department to continue abusing people like so many other cops. Shame on you!

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    1. Your facts come from the fake Connecticut post. And I’m willing to bet that the cops attorney proves that he was justified. And that guy was not in a wheel chair per the report from OIA

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    2. I hear you comrade Day. Jo brings up a racist letter and a noose under a patrol car incidence, perpetrated by a black officer is Jo’s, to be kind, bias racial t point of view. I am sure you can understand that. 🙂

      That being said, what do you have to say about a black officer perpetuating racism, especially in the police force where it’s already highly racial emotionally charged where cops are being ambushed and killed for no other reason but for wearing a police uniform? Do you hold any type of accountability for something like that? But that’s more office politics than anything else, hence the promotion.

      Jo, you do know it seems like most of the abusive officers were white. One seems like he got off easy. The other one, I can only assume was the one who embedded the emblem of his flashlight into a guy’s forehead that gave him that knot on his head.

      But look what is going on in Shelton, half a dozen cops were fired for taking a photograph of cops changing in parking because of office politics in the PD. So that a thin blue line is nonexistent at times, and can get a little thicker when the police are abusing citizens, I guess. Who knows? Bam. I’m out of here. JS

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAn7bff0zzs

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  4. Why can’t we get rid of Danny Roach as President of the Police Commission?
    Why can’t we put term limits on for officers on the various boards?
    Why can’t we keep the Police Commission as is and form a new Board such as the Citizen Review Board?
    Come on people wake up. Try doing something different.

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    1. Troll, you mean like protecting WPCA customers from foreclosure predation and losing their homes? If Carmen Lopez doesn’t insert herself into that it would still be going on and worse. You mean like protecting residents in P.T. Barnum Apartments from a fire trap? You mean like embarrassing the city to reform its intrusive parking meter system that scalped people and recorded their every move? Gee, who did Carmen Lopez take on in all those situations? The City Attorney’s Office.

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        1. Bubba, Judge Lopez just recently spoke out against an injustice, she has affected more constructive change in this City than anyone I can remember in the 40 years I’ve been hanging around. You know how much I respect you, and you’re one of the very few who’s advice and criticism I accept, but no, no, Bubba. You just crossed my line when you question the generosity of Carmen. Her presence in this poor City, with so many inaffective elected officials is a God send.

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      3. Lennie, let me state for the record that I’m very bias when it comes to Carmen Lopez and her husband. I worked along side of Carmen Lopez in her fight for the residents P.T. Barnum Apartments from a fire trap which claimed the lives of PT Barnum Resident, Tiana Black and her three children. Concerned about the residents’ safety, after discovering so many fire alarms that did not work, and that so many hazardous conditions existed like ony one way in and out the apartment. Carmen form The “Shadow Task Force” which would monitor the Task Force established by Mayor Bill Finch, and will conduct its own investigation where appropriate.

        Carmen’s protecting WPCA customers from foreclosure predation and losing their homes, it helped a sitting City Council from losing home along with so many other city homeowners. Carmen Lopez involement in these two issuses just like all of theother City issues that Carmen gets involves with she does for free because of her love of Bridgeport. Carmen Lopez would be a great City Attorney but I would support, donate and work for Carmen if she ran for mayor or any other elected postion if she decided run. Again, I thank Carmen and her husband for all of what they do for the City.

        3+

    2. Please, Lennie, Judge Carmen is the Yang to the city Yang. She only swoops in after the damage is done. She makes it seem like someone’s on their side, pacifies them with an arbitrary win over OIB’s very own Steve.

      The foreclosures were a scam, a heartless scam to take someone’s home for gain over an overdue bill. Just shut off the water like any other utility bill until they paid it. But people created an opportunity to take someone’s house, That’s Evil work. If there,s a God, we’ll see, they’ll see. Can’t speak at a deathtrap at PT, not knowing what you’re talking about, but I’ll guarantee a fire happened first before Judge Lopez came swooping in, just like she knew people were have their homes taken over water bill. for many, many years before she spread her wings and saved others from losing there home over a utility bill.

      As to ask to the parking meters. Please, another scheme that took its course before Carmen entired the fray, probably shemed hundreds of thousands before Judge Lopez.

      As for that intrusive all-seeing eye recording your every move. That rabbit hole might be deeper than you think people. JS.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYJE_xsuwkc

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  6. Jo Salling, Officer Stanitis is seen on video taking what appears to be an object from his duty belt, then keeling near the head of (a partygoer) and strike him several times with what appeared to be downward strikes,” the report said. “Officer Stanitis was observed on video utilizing this behavior on two occasions during the arrest of (the partygoer). Jo Salling, so you are asking the Commission to believe the cop and not their lying ass eyes? You and your ilk are the reason that Black Lives Matter is as needed in this America as oxygen.

    3+

    1. Don, Officer Stanitis feared for his safety because because he scare that the partygoer was on some type of drug and that he would drive his wheelchair into him.

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  7. Why do we bother with all of these excess position. Why not have the Mayor and Boards & Commissions. The Boards and Commissions Don’t cost anything and will do whatever Joe wants because they are all serving expired terms.
    We will need the City Attorney’s Office for the rare occasions where they may disagree with Joe, Mark’s opinions are as good as gold. And he’s I believe part time.
    Oh and Jo Stalling because he seems to know things that no one else does.
    All in favor say aye. Opposed nay. The ayes have it. Adjourned.

    1+

  9. Bob needs to get back to his nap (and his warmed-over Ovaltine) and his recurring dreams of toppling the JG1 regime… Maybe he’ll dream of a viable candidate to support that can replace the JG2 regime and actually perform mayoral duties competently… Somebody like Carmen Lopez…

    2+

  11. *** In the city of Bpt. your dammed if you do & dammed if you don’t.*** Not familiar with the “facts” of the Colorado Ave. incident’s, on both sides of the story. However, the cop’s do have the right to an appeal & lawer like anyone else in this case. Also, its “not new” to see that the wheels of justice turn very slowly when dealing & or sueing the city & its P/D. due to the long list of other pending cases against the city. Question, why is there not term-limits for sitting on the city’s police & fire commission’s & is their an opportunity for the C/C to change these long standing boards that have had people like Danny on forever? ***

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  12. The structure of the city’s government is just like the Mafia, t’s all about power and in order to keep that power there must be total control to have control and loyalty of everybody It’s a known fact that you must pay to play in Bridgeport Mojo, just look at the efforts that was in play to make AJ Perez the police chief, that’s what you call total control. That’s why there’s no concern about who’s on any board and commission.

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  13. *** Sad thing to think & say coming from the past, present & near future about politics, city government, local & state representation & even the present federal government in 2020. When I was on the city council there for a while, I though to myself that maybe, just maybe, Bpt. might be able to learn from its past mistakes in general & start to move the city forward without “too” many moves going backward as has been the usual case in this city. But once again, to no avail , we as a city, weather its the red, blue or green political party , etc. in charge. They & many city citizens have only managed to learn how to hide the dirt better & point the finger if shit happens! Think about it, only have to look as far as the “White-House”, to get everyday lessons from one of the founding fathers of “Conning”! Yes, I would only say that, “we have come a long way back” to where we started, no? ***

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