Connecticut town fights order to reinstate officer

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) - Windsor Locks officials have decided to fight a state order to reinstate a police sergeant fired in 2012 for allegedly hindering an investigation into a fatal accident involving his son.

The town Police Commission voted Wednesday night to go to Superior Court to appeal an order issued last month by the state Board of Mediation and Arbitration to rehire former Sgt. Robert Koistinen. The arbitration board said Koistinen should have been suspended for one year without pay but not fired for his actions.

Police commissioners disagreed.

“The public must have confidence in its police department to function effectively,” commission Chairman Kevin Brace said. “Reinstatement again weakens the public perception of the competence of our police department and the confidence of our officers in their supervisors.”

Koistinen could not be reached for comment Thursday. A phone message seeking comment was left at his home.

Koistinen, 56, of Suffield, was arrested on a hindering prosecution charge after the October 2010 accident in Windsor Locks that killed 15-year-old Henry Dang, who was riding his bicycle home late at night when he was struck by a car driven by Koistinen’s son. But a jury acquitted him in 2012, and he is now suing the town for $300,000 in lost wages, benefits and attorney fees.

A state police investigation found that Koistinen, who was among the first emergency responders to the accident, drove his son from the crash site to the police station and back as many as three times. Authorities say Koistinen later prevented an investigating officer from interviewing and getting a blood sample from his son while he was being treated at a hospital.

Koistinen’s son, Michael Koistinen, also was a Windsor Locks police officer at the time of the crash. He also was fired and is now serving a five-year prison sentence for manslaughter.

The state arbitration board said Robert Koistinen used “poor judgment” and some of his acts were inappropriate, but he didn’t violate any police department policies. The board said the appropriate discipline was a one-year suspension without pay and that Koistinen should be reinstated as a $75,000-a-year sergeant with back pay dating to January of last year.