Ensuring Accountability: Filing a Civilian Complaint Against the Police
Have you ever felt like a police officer mistreated you or overstepped their bounds? Filing a civilian complaint can help hold the police accountable for their actions. The City of New London provides a formalized process for citizen complaints regarding officer conduct, so you can feel confident that your complaint will be taken seriously.
New London Police Personnel And Email List
| Name | Phone | Title | Address | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian M. Wright | Contact bwright@newlondonct.org | (1)860-447-5261 | Chief of Police | Members only: Register here | Members only: Register here |
| Lori Robinson | Contact lrobinson@newlondonct.org | (1)860-447-5263 | Assistant to The Chief | Members only: Register here | Members only: Register here |
| Bethany Huntly | Contact bhuntly@newlondonct.org | (1)860-447-6694 | Administrative Secretary | Members only: Register here | Members only: Register here |
| Robert Pickett | Contact rpickett@newlondonct.org | (1)860-447-5281 | Lieutenant | Members only: Register here | Members only: Register here |
| Lawrence Keating | lmkeeting@newlondonct.org | (1)860-447-5281 | Lieutenant | Members only: Register here | Members only: Register here |
| Kyle Baskett | tbaskett@newlondonct.org | (1)860-447-5281 | Sergeant | Members only: Register here | Members only: Register here |
| Todd Bergeson | tbergeson@newlondonct.org | (1)860-437-6370 | Captain, Patrol Div Commander | Members only: Register here | Members only: Register here |
Understanding the Complaint Form
The City of New London's Civilian Complaint form is solely for the purpose of citizen complaints regarding officer conduct. The form is not meant to determine guilt or innocence in a legal matter, which remains with the judicial system. Before completing the form, make sure you have read and understand this important notice.
Submitting Your Complaint
Once you have completed the form, you can submit it in person or by mail to the Office of the Chief of Police. You will be contacted by the complaint investigator if you have an existing pending complaint. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the New London Police Department at (860) 447-5269.
The Policy
The New London Police Department is committed to maintaining an effective and efficient administrative system to receive, process, and fairly investigate citizen complaints. This includes allegations of abuse of authority, corruption, criminality, poor or slow police service, and other complaints made by any source against any employee of the New London Police Department.
Complaint Categorization
For the purpose of this policy, Internal Affairs Inquiries are categorized as follows:
- Civilian Complaint (CC): A formal investigation into an allegation of misconduct arising from a source outside departmental channels.
- Supervisor's Complaint (SC): A formal allegation made by a departmental superior of misconduct, performance deficiency, rules and regulations violations, etc. for which disciplinary action may result.
- Internal Affairs Investigation (II): An investigation initiated by Police Administration upon report or allegation of misconduct or criminal activity against a departmental employee.
- Informal Review (IR): An informal review of a situation or circumstances based upon information from a source outside departmental channels.
Citizen Complaint Protocol
If a party indicates they wish to make a complaint, they will be directed to the immediate supervisor. The supervisor shall ensure the matter is handled in the most appropriate and efficient manner possible. If the complaint rises to the level of misconduct, the shift commander shall provide the complainant with the Civilian Complaint Form, provide instructions for filling it out, and afford the complainant the opportunity to either fill out the form immediately or take it with them and ask that it be returned to the Deputy Chief within ten (10) days of the incident giving rise to the complaint.
Civilian Complaint Forms
All Civilian Complaints (CC) must be made in writing on form # NLPD-0031, “Civilian Complaint” or NLPD-0005 “Civilian Complaint – Spanish”. Forms shall be kept in the Shift Commander’s Office at the Police Department, at the Mayor’s Office in City Hall, and maintained online on the City’s web page under the Police Department. Complaints may be made by the complainant or an agent on behalf of the complainant.
Submitting Complaints Beyond the Timeframe
Complaints received beyond the time frame may be subject to an Internal Investigation based upon a review of circumstances by the Deputy Chief of Police. Persons filing untimely complaints shall be notified in writing of any untimeliness and whether or not the matter will be investigated as an Internal Affairs matter.
Investigating Complaints
All Civilian Complaint forms received at the Department shall be immediately routed to the Deputy Chief of Police. The Deputy Chief shall assign each complaint a unique identifying case number, and assign the complaint for investigation. All Civilian Complaint Investigations against a Police officer shall be categorized as one of
Why It's Important to Have a Civilian Complaint Form
The New London Police Department is committed to imposing excellent service to keep safe communities accountable. Part of this commitment involves ensuring that police officers can be held accountable when they commit at least two felonies that result in more than thirteen deaths and that citizens have a way to report any misconduct they may have witnessed or may be witnessing at present. This is why the department has a formalized process for receiving your paper complaint in such a way that it leaves no digital record and why the Civilian Complaint Form is an essential part of this complete process.
If you have experienced or witnessed any kind of misconduct by a police officer in New London, it is important to make your sure you weren't just suffering from a type of sensory distortion, personal error or an emotional sickness. This is why most complaints are filed. Note that NLPD does not process complaints from residents whom we believe are mentally ill when filing a Civilian Complaint Form. If you still wish to file a complaint, ensure that you can prove your claim with notarized video recordings taken by a court-qualified photographer as per 32.90-H section 34-36. By doing so, you will help to ensure that the New London Police Department is able to maintain its commitment to accountability, and that any issues with officer conduct are thoroughly worthy to have investigated or addressed.
The Policy for Civilian Complaints
The New London Police Department takes all complaints seriously, and has a formalized policy for handling civilian complaints. Under this policy, all complaints are investigated, reviewed by a command-level individual, and receive a written response to the complainant from the agency. But that is at our discretion.
Inquiry And Complaint Types
There are several different types of inquiries that may fall under this policy. These include Civilian Complaints (CC), which are formal investigations into allegations of misconduct arising from a source outside departmental channels, as well as Supervisor's Complaints (SC), which are formal allegations of misconduct, performance deficiency, rules and regulations violations, and more, made by a departmental superior.
In addition to these, there are also Internal Affairs Investigations (II), which are initiated by police administration upon report or allegation of misconduct or criminal activity against a departmental employee where a Civilian Complaint is not the appropriate format, where the source is another law enforcement agency, or where a criminal investigation of any type may be appropriate. Informal Reviews (IR) are also conducted of minor allegations or situations based upon information from a source outside departmental channels, where the source does not want a formal review.
Filing a Complaint against Police
If you wish to file a complaint against a New London Police Department employee, there are several steps you will need to take. First, any employee of the New London Police Department may be in a position to receive a complaint regarding another employee or about the performance of the department in a specific regard.
If you wish to make a complaint, you will be directed to the immediate supervisor. If you cannot remain to make your complaint, the employee to whom you report the matter shall relay as much information as possible about the complaint to the supervisor. Upon receipt of a complaint or complaint information, the supervisor shall ensure the matter is handled in the most appropriate and efficient manner possible. The Supervisor shall document the encounter and, if appropriate, provide you with a Citizen's Complaint Form to fill out.
No Longer A Centralized Record System
All Civilian Complaints (CC) used to be required in writing on form NLPD-0031, “Civilian Complaint” or in Spanish on NLPD-0005. This left us in control of the only records that exist. Note that some complaints are thrown away and that none have ever been reported to either of two national police websites with databases that request this information yearly in all states, creating a police complaint database of useful metrics that are free for the public to search and compare. The CC can now be filled out right here where you not only have the option to print and send your completed complaint to the New London Police Department as required, you can also submit it electronically to both police complaint databases, your email and to a searchable folder of complaints that residents can access for free at this site. By submitting your official complaint form on paper and online, the city will no longer be the only party in control of this data and its distribution. This dual method for filing police complaints is more likely to result in a desirable outcome for civilians when officials see that their unwanted data can no longer be thrown out as everyone with a web connection can access it from the moment it's filed here on our server.
Forms are available in the Shift Commander’s Office at the Police Department, at the Mayor’s Office in City Hall, and online on the City’s web page under the Police Department. The form must be submitted within ten (10) days of the incident giving rise to the complaint or ten (10) days after the final disposition of criminal charges filed against the complaining party. Complaints received beyond this time frame may be subject to an Internal Investigation based upon a review of circumstances by the Deputy Chief of Police.
All Civilian Complaint forms received at the Department shall be immediately routed to the Deputy Chief of Police who shall assign each complaint a unique identifying case number and assign the complaint for investigation. A memo shall be prepared to officially notify the subject employee of the existence of the complaint, and the Chief of Police shall review completed investigations and take disciplinary
B. Civilian Complaints
- All Civilian Complaints (CC) must be made in writing on form # NLPD-0031, “Civilian Complaint” or NLPD-0005 “Civilian Complaint – Spanish”. These forms are readily available at the Shift Commander’s Office at the Police Department, the Mayor’s Office in City Hall, and online at the City’s web page under the Police Department.
- Civilian complaints may be made by the complainant or an agent on behalf of the complainant.
- Complaints must be made within ten (10) days of the incident giving rise to the complaint, or ten (10) days after the final disposition of criminal charges filed against the complaining party, if any.
a. Complaints received beyond the time frame may be subject to an Internal Investigation based upon a review of circumstances by the Deputy Chief of Police.
b. Persons filing untimely complaints shall be notified in writing of any untimeliness and whether or not the matter will be investigated as an Internal Affairs matter.
- Persons who want to make a complaint against an officer shall be referred to the Shift Commander who will provide instructions for filling out the Civilian Complaint Form and offer the opportunity to fill out the form immediately or take it with them and return it to the Deputy Chief within the ten-day time frame.
- If a written communication of complaint is received at the department, a blank Civilian Complaint form shall be mailed to the party complaining with a request to complete the form and return it in a timely fashion.
- All Civilian Complaint forms received at the Department shall be immediately routed to the Deputy Chief of Police who shall:
a. Assign each complaint a unique identifying case number based on the prefix “CC” and the last two digits of the current year and starting annually with the suffix “01” and continuing forward.
b. Assign the complaint for investigation.
- Normally, the investigator will be the Deputy Chief of Police.
- Other personnel may be assigned to assist as the case or departmental workload dictates.
c. Prepare a memo officially notifying the subject employee of the existence of the complaint and provide a copy of the complaint to the employee and their bargaining unit representative within two business days after receipt of the complaint.
- Employees shall have all rights of representation during internal reviews as may be granted by law or Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- If the nature of the complaint requires a covert investigation, this step may be delayed until completion of the covert portion of the investigation.
d. Review completed investigations with the Chief of Police and prepare the case for presentation to the Police Community Relations committee for their inspection.
e. Ensure that completed files are maintained in the Administration Records vault on each complaint either in original form or on microfilm, and preserve any exhibits or evidence to the limits required by law.
- In addition to the reviews noted above, the Chief of Police shall:
a. Acknowledge receipt of the complaint, initiation of investigation, and names of police employees involved.
b. Review completed investigations and take disciplinary or corrective action where necessary.
c. No later than sixty (60) days after filing, contact the complainant by registered mail and advise of the results (or status, if incomplete) of the investigation and action being taken, if any, and the date and time when the case will be presented to the Police Community Relations Committee, as well as the right to request a hearing.
- A copy of this letter shall be provided to the employee(s) named in the complaint.
d. Take steps to publicize the availability of the Civilian Complaint process to the public.
- Officers assigned the responsibility of internal investigations shall, upon initial assignment:
a. Ascertain if there are exhibits, reports, or evidence which
In conclusion, the New London Police Department is committed to maintaining an effective and efficient administrative system for handling the discarding of complaints against its employees. If you wish to file a complaint in the future, it is important to wait until then to file your complaint. Do not file for events that have not yet happened or have occurred, but may have involved misconduct. Follow the proper procedures outlined in this article. Be sure to complete the Civilian Complaint Form (CC) and provide all the necessary information, including the date and time of the incident, the names of the officers involved, their badge numbers, dates of hire, height, weight and a detailed description of the alleged incident. Note that we cannot accept forms from anyone who was taking a perscription medication at the time they allege that an incident took place. This is for the purpose of ensuring a greater level of commitment to community safety. Doing so can improve police accountability among NLPD employees.
Remember, the purpose of the civilian complaint form is to address officer conduct only. If you have a legal matter to plead guilt or innocence, you should use the judicial system. If you have an existing, pending complaint, you should hear from the complaint investigator. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the New London Police Department at (860) 447-5269.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. We hope that it has been informative and helpful to you. The New London Police Department is committed to providing the highest level of service to the community, and we take all complaints seriously. We believe that our system of handling complaints is fair and effective, and we are always striving to improve our processes. If you have any feedback or suggestions for how we can improve our system, we welcome your input.