Erica Morey

‘Helping the Members of This Community’: Letters of Appreciation for NCPD

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The following letters of appreciation for New Canaan Police Department officers were presented to the Police Commission by Chief John DiFederico at the appointed body’s Oct. 19 meeting. ***

Officer Joseph Schinella

“Chief,

“I wanted to inform you of the hard work and professionalism that have been demonstrated by Officer [Joseph] Schinella. Officer Schinella has performed multiple roles with NCPD, including: SRT, Motorcycle Unit, FTO, Dispatcher. He has proven himself time and time again that he is a dedicated member of this agency.

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Police: Motor Vehicle Violation-Related Stops Up 48% in 2025

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New Canaan Police conducted 695 motor vehicle violation-related stops in the first two months of 2025, officials say—a 48% rise from the same period last year. The dramatic increase is “good to see,” Police Chief John DiFederico said Wednesday night while reviewing the department’s monthly statistics with the Police Commission during its regular meeting. “Our officers are very active out there, stopping cars, which is very good to deter the other criminals coming into town or at least have a chance to identify some of our criminals who are coming through,” DiFederico said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Having high-visibility enforcement is important for us.”
The comments came as New Canaan comes out of a year that saw stolen vehicles more than double—a result of residents leaving keys in unlocked cars. Last month, police detailed the steps that detectives take to make arrests in stolen vehicle cases.

Government

NCPD Special Olympics ‘Law Enforcement Torch Run’ Set for June 6

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Town officials on Wednesday night approved a road closure downtown to bring attention to a unique local effort led by the New Canaan Police Department. The Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run, scheduled for Friday, June 6, “is a great event that’s gone on for a long time to unify law enforcement officers from all over the country with Special Olympics athletes, and it’s a huge fundraiser for Special Olympics, especially in Connecticut,” according to NCPD Officer Kelly Coughlin. 

Addressing members of the Police Commission at their regular meeting, Coughlin said, “The Law Enforcement Torch Run involves police officers carrying a literal torch to kick off their Summer Olympics event games, and it’s carried throughout the whole state of Connecticut. We’ve been fortunate the last two years to be able to run through New Canaan with the torch and we will be doing so again this year.”

New Canaan’s leg of the Torch Run starts at the “Pop Up Park” at South Avenue between Elm Street and Morse Court, and runs down South Avenue into neighboring Darien. A longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, Coughlin has arranged for NCPD to participate in the Torch Run in recent years. Launched in 1981 in support the Special Olympics cause by carrying the “Flame of Hope,” the Torch Run happens through communities in every state annually.

News

Disorderly Charge for New Canaan Man, 55

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Police last week arrested a 55-year-old New Canaan man and charged him with disorderly conduct. At about 2:39 p.m. on March 13, officers responded to a Sleepy Hollow Road house on a report of a domestic dispute, according to police. There, authorities conducted an investigation and established probable cause for the misdemeanor charge. Police withheld details, saying it’s a domestic matter. Under state law, people are guilty of disorderly conduct if they “with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk … [e]ngages in … threatening behavior; or … annoys or interferes with another person,” among other reasons.

News

Criminal Mischief Charge for Man, 55

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New Canaan Police last week arrested a 55-year-old Norwalk man by warrant and charged him with third-degree criminal mischief. The warrant stems from a vandalism investigation that police launched last June regarding damage that had been done to a porta potty in Irwin Park the prior summer. According to an arrest warrant application obtained by NewCanaanite.com, police learned of the vandalism in September 2023, when a town worker told authorities that “there was writing on the porta potty containing expletive and phallic imagery,” the arrest warrant application said. 

Photos of the vandalism shown to police included disparaging language “and a drawing of a penis and testicles,” the arrest warrant application said. 

Police identified the suspect, a former town worker, by interviewing municipal employees and obtaining text messages from the former worker. The man turned himself in on an active arrest warrant at 3:50 p.m. on March 7. He was released on $2,500 bond and scheduled to appear March 21 in state Superior Court.