By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
September 29, 2006
Greenwich Police Chief James Walters testified yesterday that he
had an open mind about who to promote to captain in May 2003,
despite occasional disputes with the police lieutenant who had
the top score on an assessment test.
"I had some ideas of their strengths and weaknesses for
working with them through the years," Walters said of Lt.
Gary Honulik and now-Capt. Michael Pacewicz, who had the second
highest score and ultimately got the job.
Honulik sued Walters, the town and others in 2004, charging that
Walters violated his rights when he promoted a policeman he
favored, Pacewicz, instead of Honulik, who got the top score on
an assessment test.
Walters testified in state Superior Court in Stamford at a
hearing to decide if a permanent injunction should be issued to
stop the town from hiring another police captain until Honulik's
lawsuit is heard.
Under cross-examination, Walters said he had a dispute with
Honulik when Walters denied him permission to swap shifts with
another lieutenant. Walters said he would have approved the swap
if he'd been told about any illness.
"I did not know she was going through leukemia tests,"
Walters said. Honulik testified last week that he told Walters
his wife was sick during a phone call and that he needed to take
her to the hospital for treatment.
Honulik, a 31-year veteran of the force, is arguing that the
Greenwich Police Department was bound by a historical practice of
always promoting the candidate with the best performance on an
assessment exam. Walters testified yesterday that he directly
supervised Pacewicz from 1996 to 2003, but said he decided
against promoting Honulik based on several valid concerns,
including the possibility that Honulik's close relationships with
rank-and-file officers could keep him from disciplining officers.
Walters said that Lee Cogswell Associates, the testing firm that
administered the captain's test in 2003, identified Honulik's
popularity among lower-ranking officers as a possible problem.
During an oral interview for the job, Honulik stressed his close
relationship with the men as a plus, but Walters felt Pacewicz
would be less likely to let personal feelings get in the way of
professional decisions, he said.
Walters testified that he also felt Pacewicz had broader
experience in areas required for the job, including budgeting,
investigation, training and supervising officers.
"In the past, we'd had an ongoing problem with favoritism
with some officers consistently putting their personal
friendships first instead of the needs of the community and the
department," Walters said.
Before 2003, Honulik and other officers were involved in a union
grievance regarding Walters, who was then running the
department's detective division, making evaluations of the
performance of patrol officers he did not supervise.
Yesterday, Walters testified he sympathized with the union's
position at the time of the grievance, and agreed he should not
have been made responsible for those evaluations. Ultimately,
Walters' service ratings of Honulik and other patrol officers
were expunged to settle the grievance.
Kathryn Emmett, the Stamford attorney representing Honulik,
contended after the hearing that Walters harbored animosity about
the grievance, which led him to deny Honulik the shift swap, and
then later deny him promotion.
After the hearing, Emmett also questioned the chief's testimony
about not knowing of Honulik's wife's illness, in light of
Honulik's extensive absences to deal with it. Honulik's wife has
now recovered.
"On the face of it, Lt. Honulik had been dealing with it for
a long time and that Lt. Honulik's wife had leukemia was well
known in the department," Emmett said.
Walters declined comment after the hearing.
Robin Frederick, the attorney representing Walters and the town,
said that the chief did not learn about Honulik's wife's illness
until a meeting between the two men after their dispute.
During the hearing, Walters testified that both men were on an
equal footing when considered for the job.
"My intention was to choose the best candidate for the needs
of the department," Walters said.
The hearing will continue today at 9:30 a.m.
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