Date: Fri 27-Aug-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Lysaght-police-hearing

Full Text:

Hearings On Lysaght Termination Start Monday

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

If the Police Commission is going to fire him, Newtown's police chief wants to

make sure they do it with a big audience.

Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr, is encouraging residents interested in the

proper operation of the police department to attend his termination hearing,

which is scheduled to start Monday.

"I invite any and all citizens of the Town of Newtown... to attend the Police

Commission meetings," Chief Lysaght said. "I would like to see people who are

concerned with the continuing professional and proper operation of the police

department to be there," he said Wednesday.

The Police Commission's public hearing on its move to terminate Chief Lysaght

is scheduled to start at 6:30 pm Monday, August 30, in the Town Hall South

conference room, 3 Main Street.

The commission has reserved six nights in that room for the hearing.

Successive installments of the hearing are scheduled for September 1, 2, 3, 7

and 8, if needed. All sessions are slated to begin at 6:30 pm, except the

September 7 session which is scheduled for 8 pm. Additional dates would be

scheduled as needed.

Police Commission Chairman James Reilly had no comment Wednesday on the

upcoming termination hearing.

Chief Lysaght said he is communicating with his attorney, John Kelly, on

preparing a defense against the charges that have been leveled against him by

the Police Commission.

Chief Lysaght has filed with the first selectman's office a document listing

32 developments which occurred at the police department from July 1, 1998, to

August 11, 1999. Two other such documents covering police department

developments during the preceding two years also are on file there, the chief

said.

Of his tenure since July 1996, Chief Lysaght said, "I think three years' worth

of activity and performance... indicates the kind of person that I am."

Hearing

Town Attorney David Zabel, who is representing the Police Commission in the

proceedings, explained there are few requirements listed in state law

concerning the method of conducting a public hearing when a police commission

is seeking to terminate a police chief. The level of formality will depend on

how the Police Commission wants to proceed with the matter, Mr Zabel said.

Police Commission members last week issued a "notice of grounds for dismissal"

to Chief Lysaght explaining the reasons why they believe he should be fired.

The notice lists five grounds for the chief's dismissal and provides examples

of his conduct, plus incidents which the commission will use in evaluating

whether there is "just cause" for his termination.

Police Commission members have found that Chief Lysaght has not displayed the

skills needed to effectively lead and manage the police department.

The grounds listed for Chief Lysaght's dismissal include:

Failure to receive a satisfactory job performance evaluation for two

consecutive evaluations.

Receipt of an aggregate of three unsatisfactory evaluations during a

three-year period.

Failure to adhere to various police rules and regulations.

Failure to comply with any lawful order of the commission.

Violation of reasonable and ordinary standards of good conduct.

Mr Kelly has said the conflict between the Police Commission and the chief

amounts to "philosophical differences" over how to run a police department and

that the chief is the victim of "petty politics."

At the hearing, Chief Lysaght will have an opportunity to be heard in his own

defense, either personally or by legal counsel.

If the Police Commission decides there is just cause for his termination and

dismisses him from the post, the chief has the right to appeal the termination

within 30 days to Danbury Superior Court.

Police Commission members July 6 placed Chief Lysaght on administrative leave

with full pay and benefits until pending commission charges of ineffective

management and lack of leadership against him are resolved, along with the

question of the chief's possible dismissal.

Captain Michael Kehoe is running the police department in the chief's absence.