#MiddleburyCT #Police #Cronin #Ireland #Appeal
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
UPDATED June 12, 2025.
Attorney Jeffrey Ment on Monday, June 9, 2025, filed an appeal with the Waterbury Appellate Court on behalf of former Middlebury police officers Alton Cronin and Randy Ireland, who were fired in 2019. A corrected appeal was filed on June 10. Since the firing, the matter has been before the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration (SBMA) and also before Waterbury Superior Court.
Back on May 31, 2024, the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration ruled unanimously in the officers’ favor. On November 8, 2024, the town appealed the SBMA awards. Ment’s June 10, 2025, appeal addresses a Friday, June 6, 2025, decision by Waterbury Superior Court Judge John L. Cordani on the town’s November appeal. In the June 6 decision, Cordani tossed out the SBMA May 2024 awards.
Asked back in June 2024 what he thought about the town appealing the SBMA decision, Ment told this newspaper, “They’re never going to get a judge to flip this.” Predicting a motion to appeal would drag matters on for another 2 to 3 years, he warned the town already owed the officers more than $1 million as a result of the awards, and that amount would only increase.
Despite these predictions, Judge Cordani ruled for the town in both cases, vacating the arbitration awards the SBMA issued. The SBMA had ruled that, despite the Middlebury Police Commission firing the two for “serious misconduct,” the town had failed to follow procedures for dismissal outlined in the town’s collective bargaining agreement with the police union. The SBMA, while acknowledging the officers’ misconduct, ruled the officers should be reinstated and made whole for their losses during the years following their firings, less any outside earnings.
In his memorandum of decision, Judge Cordani noted an investigation had shown officers Cronin and Ireland had failed to patrol the town during some of their shifts, instead remaining at the police station the entire time. It also revealed Cronin falsified time cards and call reports and consequently was overpaid. The SBMA, in its decision, found Cronin should have known his responsibility to patrol, but determined the town did not have just cause for his termination.
Ireland also was found to have remained at the police station for entire shifts and to have falsified call reports. However, as in Cronin’s case, while finding Ireland should have known his responsibility to patrol, the SBMA ruled in his favor and said the town did not have just cause for his termination.
The town’s appeal of the SBMA decision argued the decision violated a well-defined public policy. Cordani, in his decision, said courts cannot be expected to use their authority to enforce a decision and take action that violates well-defined public policy. “The public should not be forced to retain police officers whom the public cannot trust because such officers have been shown to have engaged in conduct that is dishonest or dishonorable … the public must be able to trust the police officers that it employs … When the public comes to distrust the police in general, or particular officers, great damage is imposed on society,” Cordani stated in his memorandum.
Cordani’s memorandum also said the public policy involved with these cases was “so important and so foundational” that no mitigating factors raised by the SBMA can counterbalance that policy. He said the court cannot reinstate police officers who have been found to have repeatedly engaged in dishonest and dishonorable conduct, and the court would not enforce a decision to do so.
Following Cordani’s Friday decision, Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John issued the following statement: “The Town of Middlebury holds its law enforcement officers to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. Conduct such as sleeping on duty and falsifying documents is wholly unacceptable and will never be tolerated. I commend the Board of Police Commissioners for their steadfast commitment to accountability and their willingness to pursue every legal action despite harsh criticism. Their persistence serves as a testament to their dedication to upholding the principles of justice and public trust.”
Selectman J. Paul Vance said via telephone, “I’m glad I voted to send this to appeal. I can’t believe it wasn’t unanimous. The decision embraced common sense.” He added, “We have a great police department, and their leadership needs to be able to hold our police department to the highest standards.”
Selectwoman Jennifer Mahr said via text message, “There are no winners here. Middlebury taxpayers have paid more than $100K over the last 7 years in an ongoing battle over which is worse: violating someone’s rights during an investigation or retaining untrustworthy police officers. Having to make this choice is a leadership failure, plain and simple. And as a reminder, I voted against this appeal because the First Selectman sidestepped the Town Charter’s mandate that the Board of Selectmen makes the decision to appeal. Only Selectman Vance heard the Police Commission’s reasons for appeal in Executive Session, and I wasn’t elected to make decisions based on information I didn’t have.”
