ROCKY HILL – On Wednesday afternoons from October 2024 through December 2024, nearly 70 police officers from throughout Connecticut gathered in the training room at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney for the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice’s Evidence Academy.
In this first-of-its-kind course for the Division, prosecutors and other law enforcement officials and legal experts offered instruction on a wide range of topics aimed at helping police officers discern how to gather the admissible evidence prosecutors need to build strong cases in criminal court. Through lectures, slide and video presentations and mock trial, the academy was designed to broaden police officers’ knowledge about crime scene evidence in a rare setting that provided officers unprecedented in-person access to the prosecutors tasked with making charging decisions in the cases police officers and detectives investigate.
“We have made a commitment here at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney over the past few years to try and provide local and State Police with as much training from this office as possible,” Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin said to the officers gathered at the academy’s first class on October 16, 2024. “What I hope to do with this academy is to take you through, effectively, a law school-level evidence class.”
Executive Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa M. D’Angelo welcomes police officers and state troopers to recent Evidence Academy.
Chief State’s Attorney Griffin was one of several of Connecticut’s top law enforcement officials who taught at the nine-week academy, the latest addition to a series of training opportunities available to police officers through the Division’s Office of Ethics and Professional Standards, an office created by Chief State’s Attorney Griffin shortly after his appointment in May 2022.
Through the leadership of Executive Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa M. D’Angelo, the Office of Ethics and Professional Standards develops, implements, evaluates and updates ethical and professional standards for the Division and runs a robust program of in-service staff development and training for members of the Division as well as for police officers across the state.
Chief State's Attorney Patrick J. Griffin speaks to police officers and state troopers at recent Evidence Academy.
In November 2024, the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney offered its 2024 Detective School, a five-day course open to all state law enforcement officers and taught by prosecutors and local and federal law enforcement officials. Topics included search and seizure, arrest and search warrants, sexual assault investigations, child abuse and juvenile matters, cell phone warrants, domestic violence investigations, courtroom demeanor and firearms identification and tracking.
And in September 2024 at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, nearly 250 police chiefs and police supervisors participated in the Division of Criminal Justice’s John M. Bailey Seminar, an annual review of legal developments that impact police policies and practices in Connecticut.
'A Critical Priority' for Police
The Division’s training has received high marks from top police officials and attendees, and officers and detectives unable to get into the at-capacity classes are adding their names to wait lists for future classes.
“I am 100 percent behind training programs like this for our Connecticut State Troopers,” Commissioner Ronnell Higgins of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection said. “This kind of training, where we help officers learn to do their jobs better, is a critical priority for us. Learning from the subject matter experts from the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney is the way to go about this.”
Participants say the legal knowledge they received has improved their decision-making in the field and bolstered their skills – and confidence – in observing and assessing crime scenes and handling witnesses and suspects.
“It’s a great opportunity to speak with state prosecutors outside of a day-to-day courtroom situation about what they’re looking for, what they expect of us,” Officer Joseph DiColella of the Montville Police Department said. DiColella said he learned a lot from the comprehensive classes through both the lectures and interactions and was encouraged to ask questions when prosecutors made themselves more accessible to the officers.
“Now, they’re telling us to call them,” Officer DiColella said. “It’s definitely an open invite.”
Some even say the classes are helping them feel more optimistic about law enforcement as departments across the state and nation struggle with staff shortages and record-low recruitment.
“We try to stay positive out there when there are negative views of law enforcement,” said State Police Trooper Matthew Costello, who recently completed the 2024 Detective School. “With classes like this, it helps our morale because it reminds us of the importance of what we do every day and the benefits of being in law enforcement.”
Waterbury Chief of Police Fernando C. Spagnolo said the training the Division of Criminal Justice provides to police officials is invaluable.
“These courses offer our investigators direct access to seasoned law enforcement professionals, prosecutors, and legal experts who provide critical insights into building strong cases. This training educates our investigators on the essential steps they need to take during their investigations to ensure that the evidence gathered will hold significant value during prosecution. Furthermore, it equips them with practical skills to enhance their testimony during trials, which is a crucial component of achieving justice,” Chief Spagnolo said.
“The Waterbury Police Department greatly appreciates the ongoing partnership with the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and the opportunities these programs offer to our team,” Chief Spagnolo said. “These collaborations not only strengthen our department but also enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement throughout Connecticut."
Transparent and Accessible Prosecutors
At the new Evidence Academy, Chief State’s Attorney Griffin taught three classes on rules of evidence, highlighting to the police officers in attendance the importance of gathering reliable and relevant evidence prosecutors need to build a case against a defendant and the rules governing the admission of that evidence at trial.
“Police departments around the state and State Police do tremendous work on how to identify evidence, how to collect evidence and how to preserve evidence,” Chief State’s Attorney Griffin told the officers. “But where we’re not always on the same page is how that piece of evidence from the scene makes its way before a jury. Oftentimes, it is a failure by the prosecutor to effectively communicate to police what our limitations are when you talk about admissible evidence. When you send your crime scene people to a scene, they pick up everything and they call that evidence. Well, in my world, the only thing that is truly evidence is that which is presented before the jury.”
Chief State’s Attorney Griffin said it is important for both prosecutors and police to have a mutual understanding of their roles in a criminal case. Increased training like the Division’s Evidence Academy, he said, offers education about those distinct roles and helps improve communication between police and prosecutors so both can work together to achieve their public safety goals and ultimately, justice in court.
“To be at the top of your game as a detective, you have to think like a prosecutor,” Chief State’s Attorney Griffin said. “To be at the top of your game as a prosecutor, you must understand the concerns, the issues and the frustrations of the police and you must be willing to explain to them why you are taking certain steps.”
And being at the top of their game is where those taking the Division of Criminal Justice classes say they want to be.
“If anybody is interested in becoming a detective or working on big cases where there’s going to be a lot of involvement with prosecutors and State’s Attorneys, this is definitely something they need to take,” Detective Christopher Nott of the Norwich Police Department said about the recent Detective School. “Training like this is very beneficial, especially for newer detectives and officers on the patrol level so they can get an idea of what it’s like on the other side of a case that is being worked on.”
Detective Nott said the instruction he received in firearms identification, search and seizure and the use of geofence and tower dump search warrants to collect data from electronic devices in a specific area during a specific time period, will be especially useful to him. He said he appreciated how accessible and transparent the prosecutors were with the officers and the clear and concise presentations of topics that can be more difficult to grasp for those without a law degree.
“I think it’s really important for us to be able to communicate with the courts, the prosecutors and the State’s Attorneys because sometimes it’s difficult for us to understand their job,” Detective Nott said. “They have a lot going on and sometimes we don’t always get the answers that we want but when the explanation comes directly from them, it makes a lot more sense.”
Detective Vincent Parziale, a 14-year veteran of the New Milford Police Department, said he’s looking forward to more training from the Division of Criminal Justice and continuing to connect with prosecutors throughout the criminal justice process.
“Before coming to this class, you would feel like you could never contact your State’s Attorney,” Detective Parziale said. “This class was great because now they’re saying, ‘Here’s our email.’ That’s not the way it was done when I started in 2011. Yes, we will still go through the proper chain of command, but I feel like it’s much more inviting now which is going to make everyone better at what they do.”