News

Police Chief: ‘High Likelihood’ of Drug Possession, Possible Dealing in New Canaan Schools

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Getting a drug-sniffing dog access to public schools ranks high among  New Canaan Police Department priorities for this year, Chief Leon Krolikowski said Thursday. Police officials “are hopeful we will be able to get some folks in line” and finalize an agreement with the district so that the department’s K-9 unit can do its work inside schools, Krolikowski said during a budget hearing before the Board of Selectmen. 

“Because we do know as we sit here today that there’s a high likelihood that there are some kids in the school in possession of drugs and maybe distributing it,” Krolikowski said during the Board’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “And what are we going to do as a town to prevent that from happening and frankly make our kids safer?”

Asked by Selectman Nick Williams where New Canaan is in the process, Krolikowski said “stalled.”

“It’s been tabled, I believe, by the superintendent and Board of Education,” he said. “It’s been a years-long effort to try to move that along and we are login to continue to do that and be a little bit more aggressive in trying to push that along. Get something in place that we are at least comfortable with.

News

‘We Do Not Want To Permanently Damage Kids That Make Mistakes’: Board of Ed Balks at Allowing K-9 Police Dogs in Schools

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Saying they need more information and time to reflect on what would follow from allowing a police K-9 dog to search for narcotics in New Canaan schools, members of the Board of Education on Monday night decided to forgo voting on a new policy that would introduce the practice. Even if authorization from school administrators was required for K-9 searches of lockers or other areas, allowing them “has the potential to change kids’ lives,” according to Board of Ed Chair Dionna Carlson. 

“It is an important thing,” she said during the board’s regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “We all agree we want drug-free schools. But I think it is also an important thing to say that we have hired experts in their field to deal with kids in crisis. And so we want to do the right thing to keep our schools drug-free, but we also do not want to permanently damage kids that make mistakes.

News

‘I Do Not Understand’: Citing Coach’s Drug Arrest, Resident Seeks Info from Board of Ed on Allowing Police K-9 Dog in NCHS

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Citing the recent arrest of a New Canaan High School coach after authorities found him to be in possession of 20 bags of heroin, a prominent resident on Monday night urged district officials to rethink their policy on K-9 sweeps at the Farm Road building. Chris Hussey told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting (see video above at 2:30) that she learned about one year ago that in order for the New Canaan Police Department’s K-9 dog to come to the school, “they had to give the school notification.”

“I said I didn’t understand that,” Hussey said at the school board meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. “The idea, I would think, is surprise. He [Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi] was going to speak to the chief and get back to me. We never got together.

Animal 411

Police K-9 Dog ‘Apollo’ To Undergo Specialized Boarding While Handler Is Out on Medical Leave

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a contract allowing the New Canaan Police Department to board its K-9 Apollo with a New Milford-based company while the officer trained to handle the German shepherd dog undergoes extended medical leave. The Board of Selectmen during a special meeting voted 3-0 in favor of the $45-per-day contract (to be paid for through a privately supported fund, see below) with Superior K9 Services LLC—a company founded by a recently retired Norwalk police sergeant who had worked as a K-9 officer in that city. It isn’t clear just how long Apollo will remain boarded with the company, according to Police Capt. Andrew Walsh, though it’s the best place for the dog for a number of reasons. For example, Superior K9 “is the company that helped us acquire the dog in the first place,” Walsh said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “They work with multiple law enforcement [agencies] in the area, including federal, state and local agencies.

News

New Canaan Police Seek Permission To Acquire Labrador Retriever As Second K-9 Dog

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Saying it would bolster the town’s efforts to rid New Canaan of drugs such as heroin, police on Wednesday proposed acquiring a second K-9 dog for the department. A Labrador retriever’s work would include drug detection and tracking—much as the dog in place since last summer, Apollo the German shepherd, performs those duties and additionally is trained for patrol and apprehension—and also would boost the department’s community relations, K-9 Officer David Rivera told members of the Police Commission at their regular meeting. “A lot of times when I do demonstrations, I restrict people petting him [Apollo]— that is just me being a good handler to the town,” Rivera said at the meeting, held at NCPD headquarters. “That being said, getting Labrador retriever, all the kids would be able to pet the lab and we would be in a really great position to provide this community with something that a lot of communities do not get, and that is interaction with police officers.”

He added: “I feel we have an opportunity in working in one of the best police departments in the state of Connecticut to have the best K-9 program. What would really help with combating the heroin epidemic and drugs we see coming into the town would be the implementation of another K-9.”

The police department’s K-9 program is paid for entirely out of a private fund that’s supported by donations.