Crime & Safety
Ex-Officer Gets 14 Months for Assaulting Drunk Driver
Evan Cossette, of Meriden, is the police officer accused of shoving an inmate in a holding cell and lying about it to investigators.
Cossette was caught on police surveillance video in 2010 shoving an inmate, Pedro Temich, following Temich's arrest on allegations of drunk driving. Temich fell backwards and hit his head on a concrete bench, causing a bloody gash.
On Monday U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton sentenced Cossette to 14 months in prison, well below the federal guidelines of 27-33 months, according to the Hartford Courant.
His clean criminal record and correspondence from family and friends supporting a lenient sentence led to Arterton lessening Cossette's jail time, according to the Hartford Courant.
“Law enforcement officers, throughout the state and the country, need to remember that the dishonorable and criminal actions of a single police officer will never define them as people, as a department and, most importantly, as police officers,” acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Glover said in a news release. “Because the defendant broke his solemn oath to protect and to serve and, in doing so, endangered the public’s confidence in law enforcement, today’s sentence is fair and just.”
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