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New Canaan Police To Outfit Vehicle for K9 Unit

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As the New Canaan Police Department works toward getting K9 dog Apollo back in service, town officials this week approved an approximately $10,000 contract with a Danbury-based company to ready a NCPD vehicle. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 at its regular meeting Tuesday to approve the contract with Specialty Warning Systems to install K9 equipment in a Ford Interceptor. The existing K9 vehicle is “an old Crown Victoria with well over 100,000 miles on it and the components it has now are basically failing and it’s antiquated and they don’t make the parts for it any more,” Police Capt. Andrew Walsh told the selectmen at the meeting, held at Town Hall. “So we need to replace the parts anyway, so we’re going to use a vehicle that will last longer,” Walsh said. “It’s got about 45,000 miles on it so it will last four or five years.

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Letters of Appreciation for New Canaan Police

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The following letters of appreciation were shared at the Jan. 19 Police Commission meeting by Chief Leon Krolikowski. ***

Leon,

I happened to attend today’s ‘Coffee with a Cop’ at Lapham this afternoon. I was very impressed by the two officers’ presentation, they showed the utmost professionalism and that reflects on the excellent training and leadership they receive under your command. The presentation was very informative and will contribute to our community’s safety.

Andrew Walsh

‘I Don’t Think It’s Very Realistic’: Committee Mulls Postponement or Cancellation of July 4th Waveny Fireworks [UPDATED]

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Members of the volunteer committee that organizes the annual fireworks celebration at Waveny said Wednesday that the popular family gathering likely won’t happen in any form on July 4 and that it remains to be seen whether a postponed event is feasible. The Family Fourth Committee stopped short of making a formal recommendation to postpone or cancel the event. Yet even in a modified fireworks show—for example, where attendees are told to park on the lawn at Waveny and remain in their cars—members of the group voiced concerns about people ignoring such instructions. 

“Here’s an example—the parks got closed for a reason,” Committee member Wendy Dixon Fog, who also is a volunteer EMT with New Canaan Emergency Medical Services, said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “And they got closed because people refused to social distance and you had a lacrosse game and you had a little bumble bee soccer game and these parents were already told, ‘Social distancing, no games.’ So if we can’t control what they are doing in small numbers, I don’t know how we are going to be able to do this.”

Chair Tom Stadler said the Committee would meet weekly until it reached a decision. Committee member Robin Bates-Mason said Norwalk, Westport, Enfield, West Haven, Hartford and Windsor Locks already have canceled their Independence Day fireworks.

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Selectmen Approve New Security Cameras at NCPD

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a $9,205 contract with a Norwalk-based company to replace security cameras at the New Canaan Police Department. The Board of Selectmen voted 2-0 in favor of the contract with Security Solutions. The funds are to be paid of out this year’s approved capital budget, according to Police Capt. Andrew Walsh. The department’s current video surveillance system is “over a decade old with grainy footage,” Walsh said during the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “We have a few blind spots around the building,” he said.

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Newest New Canaan Police Officer Sworn In; Tam Receives ‘Officer of the Year Award’; 8 Officers, 3 Civilians Honored

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The New Canaan Police Department on Tuesday recognized eight officers and three civilians for outstanding service to the community during a ceremony that also saw the agency’s newest member sworn in by the town clerk. In addressing Nicole Vartuli, a Stamford native and Westhill High School graduate who is poised for training at the Connecticut Police Academy this year with an expectation that she will undergo field training with NCPD through the early part of 2018, Chief Leon Krolikowski said that “badge you were just issued represents public trust.”

“The public willingly puts this work in your hands and trusts that you will take care of them in the proper manner,” Krolikowski said moments after Vartuli had been sworn in by Town Clerk Claudia Weber. “They do not want this responsibility for themselves. My charge to you today is to do just that: Get it right. We have all heard about the stories of officers who have gotten it wrong.