Lieutenant files bias suit

Monday, December 16, 2002 3:00 AM EST
By Marissa Yaremich

BRANFORD — Police Lt. Thomas W. Grantland has sued several of his colleagues and a Bristol-based testing firm for allegedly demonstrating bias during the interview process for deputy chief.

The suit alleges that contract provisions were breached because a potential conflict of interest between the chosen deputy chief, John C. DeCarlo, and a member of the evaluating panel, Clinton Police Chief Joseph P. Faughnan, was not disclosed.

The suit lists Police Chief Robert W. Gill, the Board of Police Commissioners and Lee Cogswell Associates Inc. as defendants.

Grantland and DeCarlo were two of five eligible candidates who applied for the position after Deputy Police Chief Raymond Wiederhold retired this fall. DeCarlo assumed Wiederhold’s duties on Nov. 18.

According to Grantland’s attorney, Frank P. Cannatelli of Ansonia, Faughnan was aware of a financial arrangement between DeCarlo’s computer software company, NexGen Solution, and the Clinton Police Department, but did not notify the other two examiners, also area police chiefs, prior to the oral interviews.

"There is an appearance of impropriety and I’m going to argue that before the judge," Cannatelli said.

Cannatelli also is seeking a temporary injunction against the town and police board that would prohibit DeCarlo’s swearing-in ceremony until the court hears the motion. The injunction hearing is scheduled for Monday in Superior Court at New Haven. DeCarlo was to be sworn in on Nov. 18.

Cannatelli added that minutes from an April 2000 Clinton Police Commission meeting show that the department considered using NexGen Solution to upgrade its computer systems, but that Faughnan did not notify the panel of this information prior to Cogswell’s final recommendation to Gill and the police board.

Grantland claims that the examination process is therefore "tainted" and its ensuing results invalid, the suit states.

However, the department eventually opted to sign a contract with Information Management Corporation of Grafton, Mass., for the computer services, according to a letter Clinton First Selectman James M.

McCusker Jr. wrote to Gill on Nov. 15.

DeCarlo argued that he never met Faughnan prior to the interviews.

"There has never been a business relationship between me and the town of Clinton in any aspect," said DeCarlo, who is not named in the suit.

Grantland’s suit also seeks more than $15,000 in equitable relief and damages from Lee Cogswell Associates Inc. for its failure to recognize the conflict of interest prior to selecting the three oral examiners.

The deputy police chief’s responsibilities include managing daily operations and planning the department’s budget.

Grantland, a 30-year veteran with the department, has more than 16 years of supervisory experience in the patrol division operations.

Prior to his promotion, DeCarlo, a 25-year veteran, served as the founder and manager of the department’s Office of Information Technology, Cannatelli said.

The defendants’ attorney, Ian Bjorkman of Wiggin & Dana in New Haven, declined comment on the lawsuit except to say that his clients deny any wrongdoing.