New Fairfield officer under investigation

NEW FAIRFIELD -- State police confirmed Wednesday that a local officer is the subject of an internal investigation surrounding the disappearance of exercise equipment.

Lt. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the state police, said the resident state trooper received a complaint about some "exercise equipment that is presently unaccounted for" that was supposed to be donated to the local police department.

The resident state trooper, Vance said, initiated an internal investigation after receiving the complaint.

"There is an investigation under way," Vance said.

First Selectman John Hodge said the complaint was received about a month ago and officials are still trying to determine its validity and whether to handle the situation through criminal or administrative channels.

"We asked the state police to investigate this right away, and we are still awaiting the results of that investigation," Hodge said.

Hodge declined to provide the name of the officer or say whether the officer has been placed on suspension as a result of the investigation. The town employs five police officers.

Officials did not say how much the equipment was worth.

Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky said Wednesday he couldn't comment on a pending investigation.

Sgt. Adam Wagnblas, the town's resident state trooper, was unavailable for comment.

Contact Dirk Perrefort at dperrefort@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3358.