Police promotions remain on hold

By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer

September 10, 2007

If the town fights a verdict promoting one police officer to captain while demoting another, officials will not be able to replace a police command staff depleted by retirements, First Selectman Jim Lash said.

"The judge made it crystal clear we won't be able to fill any of the leadership positions until the litigation is resolved," Lash said. "We're looking at all of our options."

Attorneys for the town and Capt. Michael Pacewicz said they feel there is a strong legal basis to appeal state Superior Court Judge Michael Shay's decision last week, which reversed Pacewicz's 2003 promotion and promoted in his place Lt. Gary Honulik, who outscored Pacewicz and other candidates on a promotional exam.

An appeal must be filed by Sept. 24, according to the ruling.

Shay ruled that former Chief James Walters, who retired this summer, violated the town's merit promotion system by passing over Honulik, the top-ranked candidate on an eligibility list compiled by the town. Walters chose Pacewicz after adding an interview to the evaluation process after the test results were known.

"I think it is likely that my client will ask me to take an appeal," said William Kupinse, Pacewicz' Bridgeport-based attorney. "As someone who has done some labor law I think this is a case where the judge was clearly wrong."

An injunction currently blocking the hiring new captains and deputy chiefs would remain in effect pending the outcome of an appeal, Shay said in his ruling.

In the meantime, Walters and Deputy Chief Pat Chila have retired, leaving just Ridberg and Pacewicz in the upper ranks of the department. Two deputy chief positions and one captain position remain unfilled.

Since being promoted in June, Ridberg has said he has run the department with Pacewicz by delegating tasks usually handled by deputy chiefs and captains to lieutenants.

Former Chief Peter Robbins said that a lack of administrators to oversee the department's 155 sworn officers and dozens of other employees for another extended period of time could hurt operations.

"I think this is unprecedented to have a police chief in this position where he doesn't really have an administrative staff," Robbins said. "It's a big police department, about the eighth or ninth largest in the state with close to 200 employees, and that's kind of difficult to manage that kind of operation without help."

Town Attorney John Wayne Fox said Shay misinterpreted the town's employment policies and state labor law, and that the town was allowed to pass over Honulik. Fox said an appeal is a possibility.

"The bottom line concern is that the person who scores the most points on a given examination is not necessarily the best candidate for that position," Fox said. "I think the municipality has to have some discretion in that selection process."

Former Chief Robbins said "I think Capt. Pacewicz might have a claim because he took a test in good faith and was given the position. You can't change the rules in the middle of the game and I think that's where they got in trouble."

By failing to follow the tradition of promoting the top ranking candidate on the eligibility list and failing to notify candidates about the additional interview, officials invited litigation by hurting Honulik and leaving Pacewicz vulnerable, Robbins said.

Joan Caldwell, of District 10/Northwest Representative Town Meeting, said that rather than facing a shortage of department senior commanders, the department could have had an improved management structure had the judge fairly interpreted the town's motives.

Sgt. James Bonney, head of the Silver Shield Association, said he hopes the town will comply with Shay's ruling but also deal with Pacewicz' fairly without a lengthy appeal that would delay Ridberg from promoting Honulik and other new captains and deputy chiefs. The department must move beyond the divisiveness between the union and police brass that marked Walters' time as chief, Bonney said.

He said the town should hold to its practice of promoting the top ranking candidate on the eligibility list for police leadership positions.

"I think the best thing to do is to just offer the captains' test again and make it fair," Bonney said. "There are different ways to go about it but we need a decision that is fair to everyone."

Ridberg and Walters could not be reached for comment.