Around Town

‘This Way He Will Not Be Forgotten’: Golf Tournament Honoring Fallen New Canaan Police Officer To Support Scholarship for NCHS Students

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A local nonprofit organization that helps police families throughout the area who have suffered from illness, disability or the loss of a loved one is creating a scholarship that will go to a deserving New Canaan High School student while honoring a local police officer who died while on the job 25 years ago. This year, proceeds from the New Canaan Police Benevolent Association’s annual Jim Martin Memorial Cops & Robbers Golf Tournament will fund a new, need-based scholarship at NCHS, according to the organization’s president, Officer Roberto Lopez, and vice president, Officer Ron Bentley. A local tradition since the 1970s that has been held in Martin’s honor since he died in 1991, the golf tournament in past years has raised money that went to the fallen officer’s widow and children. Those kids are grown now, the officers said, and approached with an idea of honoring her husband by helping a local student work toward their goals, Lauren Martin “was all for it,” Lopez said. “We came up with this to keep the tradition going and to keep something in his name,” he said.

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New Canaan Police To Launch ‘Coffee with a Cop’

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Seeking to forge and foster positive relationships between officers and civilians as divides between the two have yielded violent clashes elsewhere, the New Canaan Police Department soon will launch ‘Coffee with a Cop.’

The new program, which has launched successfully in neighboring Norwalk, is designed to bolster already “exceptional” relationships between officers and civilians in New Canaan, according to Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. “The majority of the community and our officers are well-respected and appreciated, but violence around the nation affects everybody, and just because New Canaan is a relatively safe town, that doesn’t mean that officers are not concerned about their safety and how the public views them,” he said. Krolikowski referred to incidents that have seen five police officers killed and nine wounded in Dallas on July 7, then three officers killed and three injured in Baton Rouge 10 days later. The Dallas shootings brought the total number of law enforcement officers who had died in the line of duty to 31, compared to 18 for the same point in 2015, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The idea of bringing ‘Coffee with a Cop’ to New Canaan was Officer Ron Bentley’s, the chief said.

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NCHS Grad, Baseball Coach, Community Impact Officer: NCPD’s Ron Bentley Takes On ‘Downtown Beat’

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A 1994 New Canaan High School graduate and assistant coach of the varsity baseball team who has been serving as a police officer in town for more than a decade will start working the “downtown beat” next week under the re-launch of a widely praised and popular program, officials said Wednesday. Officer Ron Bentley will “connect with merchants, residents and visitors in the center of town” as well as “deter criminal activity, enforce traffic laws and make our village a safer place to both visit and do business in” as the New Canaan Police Department’s designated Community Impact Officer, Chief Leon Krolikowski said in a press release. “We are committed to better protecting and serving the New Canaan community in both an efficient and effective manner,” the chief said. “The CIO program is just one of the many ways in which we will fulfill our mission and commitment to our town.”

Bentley, who grew up on Millport Avenue, said during an interview with NewCanaanite.com that he is excited to connect with more people and merchants in the heart of the business district. The longtime New Canaanite—an East School alumnus whose little brother, Charlie, is a New Canaan firefighter—said he put in for the role of CIO because he feels a strong affinity for New Canaan and sees the downtown beat as a way to strengthen even more effectively and directly relations between the department and wider community.

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Two First Presbyterian Nursery School Students Tour the New Canaan Police Department

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On a recent afternoon, Wyatt and Henry Rotchford’s dreams came true when they had the opportunity to get a tour of the New Canaan Police Department with Chief Leon Krolikowski. The 4- and 5-year old brothers won the trip to the Police Department through a drawing at First Presbyterian Nursery School, which they attend. Accompanied by their mother, Leslie Rotchford, the brothers said they were excited to see where the police officers work—Wyatt could not stop talking about how many police Legos he had at home. Before the tour began, Henry told New Canaanite: “I’m most excited to see the jail where the bad guys go.”

The boys got a sneak peek into the offices where police work, had their fingerprints taken and even sat in a police car. They also stopped in to see Officer Ron Bentley, who showed the brothers how he receives a 911 call.

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All New Canaan Police Officers To Start Using Body Cameras within Two Weeks

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All New Canaan Police officers on patrol will be wearing body cameras within about two weeks, following a trial run of several months with one of the department’s seasoned officers, the chief said. Designed to help officers do their jobs and to show, if not ensure, that officers are carrying out duties appropriately, the FirstVu-brand body cameras are being purchased with donations as well as state funds and through the regular budget process, officials say. “From beginning to end, they will show exactly what happened and what was said and done,” Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said. “I have great faith in our officers, that they make the right decisions, and these [body cameras] are out there for the best interests of everyone.”

New Canaan ranks among the first municipalities in the area to introduce the technology, the chief said. Officer Ron Bentley, a 1994 New Canaan High School graduate and longtime assistant coach of the Rams varsity baseball team, has been testing the FirstVu model and said “it’s a fantastic tool.”

“It’s good for both me and it’s good for the public,” Bentley said.