City to Consider Anti-Nepotism Policy

Members of the city council are following the advice of attorney Thomas Daily and draft a specific anti-nepotism policy.

The council this week requested that City Manager Lawrence Kendzior develop a proposed nepotism policy that would apply to all city departments, a directive that was based on the findings or a report on the Meriden Police Department completed by Daily in 2012.

Majority leader Brian Daniels told the Record-Journal that the policy will be a difficult one to develop and said due to budget needs, the council was previously hesitant to ask Kenzior to take on the two challenges at the same time.

But Mayor Michael Rohde indicated that prior to the recent conviction of Evan Cossette, there simply wasn’t concern that the city should necessarily take on the issue.

“We’ve taken it off the back burner and put it on the front burner,” Rohde said.

The need for a policy stems from allegations against the Meriden Police Department in 2010 that indicated Police Chief Jeffry Cossette’s son, former Meriden officer Evan Cossette, was shown nepotism and favoritism in discipline.

An internal investigation found no specific wrongdoing, but Daily in a report determined it would be best to create the policy. Support came when Cossette was found guilty of policy brutality in causing head wounds to Meriden resident Pedro Temich.

Cossette has since resigned from the department and will face sentencing in August.

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