Town of Groton and Chief Michael Crowley

[davidmcbeth]

WOW... what an ASS. He admits that he filed his application by mail and in person but on the same form he claims that no application was submitted... asshat.

hearing was today ... wonder what happened?

 

[Edward Peruta]

Order that Permit be Issued

The Board of Firearm Permit Examiners heard the case late Thursday night and after 27 minutes ordered that a Temporary Permit be issued.

The clock begins to run when the application is provided.

 

[davidmcbeth]

The Board of Firearm Permit Examiners heard the case late Thursday night and after 27 minutes ordered that a Temporary Permit be issued.

The clock begins to run when the application is provided.

Does that mean that they ruled that one can mail it?

 

[brk913]

Does that mean that they ruled that one can mail it?

Yes, they did.

 

[Rich B]

Yes, they did.

And it will be publicized soon enough.

 

[davidmcbeth]

And it will be publicized soon enough.

Yeah, that the chief cannot read?

They don't care -- nothing ever happens to the folks who act this way ...

 

[Edward Peruta]

The Games Continue

I wonder if the Town of Groton Manager knows what's going on with his Chief and Lt.?

Here is a link that that Town of Groton Manager should view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKHtNPVOT8Y

Mark R. Oefinger Town Manager (860) 441.6630

Lt. John Barone, under oath assured the Board that he had the authority of the Chief.

MAYBE THE BOARD SHOULD REQUIRE THE ACTUAL ISSUING AUTHORITY TO SHOW UP AND NOT SEND UNDERLINGS TO MAKE DECISIONS.

Lt. Barone when contacted Friday May 10th claimed the Chief was not in and that Lt. Barone had not yet informed him of the Board's decsion.

When contacted on Monday May 13th, Lt. Barone states that the Chief will wait until he receives the letter from the board.

This flys in the faceof his assurance to the Board and Appellant that he would be getting his permit the next day.

Obviously he did NOT have the authority of the Chief, and the Chief does not TRUST Lt. Barone enough to act on his verbal report of the Board's decision.

Here is the text that documents what occurred on Thrusday May 9th.



Lt. John Barone - My name is John Barone B-A-R-O-N-E and I’m a Lt. with the Groton Police Department and I represent the Chief.

Board Secretary Chief Knapp - And you have the authority of the ChiefLt. Barone – I do have his authority
Chairman Corradino – And that’s Groton Town

Lt. Barone – Yes

Chairman Corradino – We find that the Issuing Authority was without just and proper cause to deny the application of the appellant and um I would find for the appellant
um is there any objection to make this a unanimous vote? Hearing none it is so ordered that’s the order of the board.

Lt. Barone – Thank you

Chairman Corradino - When will you be at your office?

Lt. Barone - Bright and early tomorrow morning.

Chairman Corradino - Good, do you want to wait for our letter to issue him his pistol permit or do you want to….

Lt. Barone - I will speak to my Chief tomorrow morning and advise him of what has been issued or what the determination is and recommend to him that we issue immediately.

Chairman Corradino - Ok, Mr. Paddock you get in contact with the Lt.

Lt. Barone - Do you have my card?

 

[davidmcbeth]

Sec. 29-28a. Application for permit. Notice of decision to applicant. (a) Requests for temporary state permits under section 29-28 shall be submitted to the chief of police, or, where there is no chief of police, to the warden of the borough or the first selectman of the town, as the case may be, on application forms prescribed by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Upon written request by any person for a temporary state permit not on a prescribed application form, or upon request by any person for such application form, the local authority shall supply such forms. When any such request is made in person at the office of the local authority, the local authority shall supply such application form immediately. When any such request is made in any other manner, the local authority shall supply such application form not later than one week after receiving such request. If such application form is not supplied within the time limits required by this section, the request therefor shall constitute a sufficient application. If any local authority fails to supply an application form upon the request of any person, such person may request an application form from the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection or any barracks of the Division of State Police, and the time limits and procedures set forth in this section for handling requests for such forms shall be applicable.

(b) The local authority shall, not later than eight weeks after a sufficient application for a temporary state permit has been made, inform the applicant that such applicant’s request for a temporary state permit has been approved or denied. The local authority shall forward a copy of the application indicating approval or denial of the temporary state permit to the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection. If the local authority has denied the application for a temporary state permit, no state permit may be issued. The commissioner shall, not later than eight weeks after receiving an application indicating approval from the local authority, inform the applicant in writing that the applicant’s application for a state permit has been approved or denied, or that the results of the national criminal history records check have not been received. If grounds for denial become known after a temporary state permit has been obtained, the temporary state permit shall be immediately revoked pursuant to section 29-32.

This issuing authority is not the chief, its the town corporation. You can certainly serve the chief but he is not the issuing authority. So does it really matter if the Lt. is "representing" the chief (aside from the fact that he is not a lawyer and cannot represent anyone w/o violating CGS Sec. 51-88)?

And a true client could have someone represent him for a day and require of him not to make any agreements w/o his review of the agreement (although many lawyers would ignore such a directive from a client).

Ed caught a good point though...if a lawyer did this then one could complain the the bar assoc. and if they found out that there was no attny-client relationship then they would likely sanction or disbar the lawyer ~ here there is little that will be done.

In my case, a cop sent in the questionnaire with documents ~ I objected under 51-88 and the town lawyer filed an appearance and re-filed the questionnaire with the documents because the lawyer knew what was appropriate and what was not.

Everyone going before the board should object to a cop acting as a legal consul. They cannot. They can only give testimony, answering only those questions put to them by one of the parties in the case. And if a town consul does not show, its a no-show for the town IMO, and a default should be requested at the outset of the hearing.

That's how I read the law.

 

[davidmcbeth]

MAYBE THE BOARD SHOULD REQUIRE THE ACTUAL ISSUING AUTHORITY TO SHOW UP AND NOT SEND UNDERLINGS TO MAKE DECISIONS.

They law already has this requirement and a board regulation cannot abrogate this legal requirement of due process concerns.


Admin cases are still judicial cases in the eyes of the law.

So there is no need for the board to issue out new regulations.

If any new regulations are desired I would like to see a set of them to allow for a "take-papers" proceeding to proceed if the applicant wishes to go this route. It would likely shorten up the time needed for a decision.

 

[XD40sc]

Sean Paddock has recieved Chief Crowleys questionaire and this is what it looks like.

http://www.ctgunrights.com/00.Docs/00.ct.docs/Groton Questionaire0001.pdf

The Town of Groton contacted Sean and rescheduled his interview and fingerprinting for June 5th.

The hearing will go forward on the issues, and I will be videotaping the hearing for all to see.

Chief Crowley's attitude needs to be adjusted and I can only hope the board sends a very loud message.

The handwriting for #1, clearly indicates the man was raging when he first took pen to paper. That reaction from a chief of police does not indicate he needs an attitude change, he needs a career change.

 

[davidmcbeth]

The handwriting for #1, clearly indicates the man was raging when he first took pen to paper. That reaction from a chief of police does not indicate he needs an attitude change, he needs a career change.

Likely get a promotion.... ya can see what a criminal justice degree means .... NOTHING..just show up I guess

 

[Edward Peruta]

Town of Groton recent activity

Rachel M. Baird & Associate
Old Post Office Square
8 Church St Ste 3B
Torrington CT 06790-5247
Rachel M. Baird, Attorney Tel: 860.626.9991
Craig M. Lovely, Attorney Fax: 860.626.9992

May 13, 2013

T. William Knapp, Secretary
Board of Firearms Permit Examiners
State of Connecticut
20 Trinity St 5th Fl
Hartford CT 06106-1634
Fax: (860)256-2997

Re: Sean Paddock 05/09/2013 Board Hearing Chief Crowley’s Failure to Issue Temporary State Permit as Represented

Dear Chief Knapp:

Our client, Sean Paddock, contacted the office reporting that Lt. Barone informed him
that Chief Crowley will not act on his temporary state permit until receipt of a letter from the
Board. We confirmed this in a phone conversation with Lt. Barone this morning.

A review of a video recording of the May 9, 2013, hearing before the Board confirms Lt.
Barone’s clear and unequivocal statement at the hearing’s commencement that he represents
Chief Crowley. To confirm, you pointedly asked: “And you have the authority of the Chief?”
and Lt. Barone responded: “I do have his authority.”

At the conclusion of the hearing Lt. Barone informed the Board that he would
recommend to Chief Crowley the next day that a temporary state permit issue to Mr. Paddock.1
The next day after the hearing, Lt. Barone informed Mr. Paddock when Mr. Paddock called him

Chairman Corradino: We find that the Issuing Authority was without just and proper cause to deny the
application of the appellant and I would find for the appellant. Is there any objection to
make this a unanimous vote? Hearing none it is so ordered that’s the order of the board.

Lt. Barone: Thank you.

Chairman Corradino: When will you be at your office?

Lt. Barone: Bright and early tomorrow morning.
Chairman Corradino: Good, do you want to wait for our letter to issue him his pistol permit or do you want
to….

Lt. Barone: I will speak to my Chief tomorrow morning and advise him of what has been issued or
what the determination is and recommend to him that we issue immediately.

Chairman Corradino: Ok, Mr. Paddock you get in contact with the lieutenant.

that Lt. Barone had not yet spoken to Chief Crowley about the matter. Mr. Paddock was then
informed today that no action will be taken until receipt of a letter from the Board.

This current situation may be viewed in at least two ways:

First, if Lt. Barone represented Chief Crowley at the hearing and had Chief Crowley’s
authority to act then his agreement to recommend issuance the next day to Chief Crowley was in
fact an agreement by Chief Crowley to recommend issuance the next day to himself. Apparently
Chief Crowley has rejected his own recommendation.

Second, Lt. Barone misrepresented to the Board his authority to act on behalf of Chief
Crowley and/or Chief Crowley does not find Lt. Barone’s report of what occurred at the hearing
credible.

For this reason, Mr. Paddock asks that the Board compel Chief Crowley to appear and
answer on his own behalf, as any representation made, even under oath, that another other officer
has his authority to act, cannot be credited.

Sincerely,


Rachel M. Baird, Attorney




Chief Michael J. Crowley
Lt. John Barone
Town of Groton Police Department
68 Groton Long Point
Groton CT 06340
Fax: (860)441-6726

 

[Edward Peruta]

Town of Groton recent Activity

STATE OF CONNECTICUT
BOARD OF FIREARMS PERMIT EXAMINERS
20 Trinity Street, 5[SUP]th[/SUP] Floor
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
1-860-256-2977



May 14, 2013

Chief Michael Crowley
Groton Town Police Department
68 Groton Long Point Road
Groton Town, CT 06340

Re: Case No. 13-454-D, Sean Paddock, DOB 10/16/1986

Dear Chief Crowley,

At the May 9, 2012 meeting of the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners pursuant to Section 29-32b of the General Statutes of Connecticut, as amended, the Board considered the appeal of Mr. Sean Paddock. As the “Issu;ing Authority” in this case, it is your decision/actions that the appellant appealed. Because the Chief of Police may be otherwise occupied, the Board does not always require the presence of the Chief as some, at times, delegate their ‘binding decision making authority’ to an officer of lesser rank saving themselves from having to appear. In this case, your Lieutenant John Barone, under oath, testified that he had your authority to make decisions binding on you. If that is ‘not the case’, please notify the Board office immediately.

The Board has found the appellant to be a suitable person and ordered a temporary pistol permit to be issued to Mr. Paddock forthwith and without further delay. Your Lieutenant Barone assured the Board that your department would do that.

Mr. Paddock is directed to contact the Groton Town Police Department, to implement the order of the Board.

Sincerely,


Joseph T. Corradino
Board Chairman

c:
Sean Paddock
Through his Attorney
Craig M. Lovely, Esq.
379 Prospect Street
Torrington, CT 06790-5238

 

[Edward Peruta]

May 14,2013
Via Facsimile (860) 256-2997T. William Knapp, SecretaryBoard of Firearms Permit ExaminersState of Connecticut20 Trinity St. 5th FloorHartford, CT 06106-1634
Re: Board Hearing of May 9, 2013 Regarding Sean Paddock's Permit Application
Dear Chief Knapp:
This office represents the Town of Groton. This letter concerns the May 9,2013, Board hearing regarding the Town's denial of the issuance ofa temporarystate pistol pennit to Sean Paddock. At the hearing, Lieutenant Varone stated thathe would speak to Chief Crowley regarding Mr. Paddock's permit appeal and theBoard's inclination to grant the same. Lieutenant Varone indicated that he wouldrecommend to Chief Crowley that the permit be issued immediately. A"recommendation" naturally implies that the person to whom that recommendationis made will render the ultimate decision. Upon consideration of therecommendation, Chief Crowley determined that he will not issue the permit untilhe receives a written decision from the Board confirming its position on the appeal.There is no reason or cause to convene another hearing; upon receipt of the Board'swritten decision, Chief Crowley will respond accordingly.
Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions.

Very truly yours,​

Ryan W. laziriRW1/lkm​

Cc: Michael Crowley, Chief of Police
Rachel M. Baird, Esq.

 

[motoxmann]

this guy is a frickin tool! I'm simply amazed at how ignorant and rebellious this fool is!

 

[MSG Laigaie]

Chief Crowley determined that he will not issue the permit untilhe receives a written decision from the Board confirming its position on the appeal.There is no reason or cause to convene another hearing; upon receipt of the Board'swritten decision, Chief Crowley will respond accordingly.
Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions.

Very truly yours,​

Ryan W. laziriRW1/lkm​

Cc: Michael Crowley, Chief of Police
Rachel M. Baird, Esq.

Hand carry a letter to him and put it in his hand.

 

[davidmcbeth]

Hand carry a letter to him and put it in his hand.

He does not state that he will issue a permit after he receives the board's ruling (which usually comes very quickly - letter being sent out wise).

He states "he will respond" to it ... could include not issuing and filing an appeal or a motion to reconsider that is authorized under Chap. 54. We'll see.

Now if there was no board and the town went before a JUDGE, this guy would have had his permit already.

 

[Edward Peruta]

Congratulations Mr. Paddock and thank you for taking on this issue

There is much more to this story, but Mr. Paddock received his Temporary State Permit today.
The Town of Groton returned his $50.00 and $16.50 background check fees and has changed their policies regarding permits.
The Chief refused to sign the Temporary Permit and showed his contemp for the rule of law.
This is the permit which has been redacted to show the signature line.
It's my understanding that a very high ranking Naval officer at Submarine Base New London may have sent a letter regarding this situation.
Click on the picture to view a larger image

 

[davidmcbeth]

There is much more to this story, but Mr. Paddock received his Temporary State Permit today.
The Town of Groton returned his $50.00 and $16.50 background check fees and has changed their policies regarding permits.
The Chief refused to sign the Temporary Permit and showed his contemp for the rule of law.
This is the permit which has been redacted to show the signature line.
It's my understanding that a very high ranking Naval officer at Submarine Base New London may have sent a letter regarding this situation.
Click on the picture to view a larger image

View attachment 10432

I would say that it is more than contempt ... I would say that the the state could argue that the permit is not valid, at least its something to be aware of. It must be signed by the issuing authority. He'll find out when he goes for the permanent permit I guess.

I would get the permanent permit prior to carrying ... just to be safe.

No one should be treated like this.

 

[MKEgal]

I together with many others

Please speak for yourself, not anyone else.

The fact that Sean Paddock is an active duty SERVING member of the U.S. Military with the rank of E-6 does in fact put him in a special class of applicant.

Could you please show us the law which says that people employed by the military have special priviledges w/r/t getting carry permits? (Other than that their TDY address is considered their home for things like getting a permit or buying a pistol.)
It's wrong to be done to any person.

even if this happend to a non millatry person it's still against the law regardless. I am a coast guard auxliarist and a per diem DHS employee that held no weight at my board hearing.

You're not even allowed to mention that you're an Auxiliarist on any discussion board, any social website profile, nothing. They think it somehow interferes with "OPSEC".
And they're right - your status as a volunteer has nothing to do with getting your pistol permit.

WOW... what an ASS. {the Chief} He admits that he filed his application by mail and in person but on the same form he claims that no application was submitted... asshat.

+1

The Chief refused to sign the Temporary Permit and showed his contemp [sic] for the rule of law.
This is the permit which has been redacted to show the signature line.

I hope the board gets a copy of that & sees how their directions are being ignored.
Is there anything the board can do to the Chief, or the Lt., or the town?