Rep. Pizzuto Votes in Support of State Police Contract

HARTFORD – State Representative Bill Pizzuto (R-Middlebury), today voted in favor of a new State Police Union contract. The document was approved on a vote of 142-1.

“Last week I had the opportunity to be in the Mayor’s Office with the Police Chief and other state Senators and Representatives where we discussed the correlation between local municipal police contracts and state police contracts. We realized the City of Waterbury should have 300 officers, but they’re down about 50. After that meeting, I went out and found my catalytic converter gone, taken from my car,” said Pizzuto.

“We need to incentivize people to join law enforcement, support them, and increase their numbers across the board, which we do with this contract. Next, we need to deal with problems stemming from the Police Accountability Bill.”

The contract covers 888 employees over four years at a cost increase of $79,363,062. This includes $3,500 bonuses retroactive to July 1, 2022, and with a 2.5% wage increase for contract years 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. There’s also a wage reopener for contract year 2025-2026.

House Republican Proposals on Supporting Law Enforcement

• Protect law enforcement and municipalities from being forced to settle in qualified immunity cases because any denial under current law bars them from appealing that decision until after jury decision. (HB 5361)
• Evaluate the use of force from the perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation, based on the totality of the circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time, rather than with the benefit of hindsight, and that the totality of the circumstances shall account for occasions when officers may be forced to make quick judgments about the use of force. (HB 5361)
• Provide clarity and list circumstances under which police can be decertified for undermining public confidence. (HB 5362)
• Restore the ability for police to request consent searches during motor vehicle stops when there is reasonable suspicion of a crime. (HB 5361)
• Require P.O.S.T. to rewrite the police pursuit policy to allow pursuit of property crime offenses. (HB 5361)