A judge has denied a union request for a temporary injunction to stop the layoffs of 56 state troopers. Union president Sgt. Andrew Matthews and Andrew McDonald, general counsel for Gov. Malloy, announced the decision outside the courthouse on Wednesday.
Thirty-four 34 troopers were let go yesterday, including the trooper who helped save the life of Bristol Mayor Art Ward in December. On Sept. 8, 22 more state troopers are scheduled to leave.
"While the governor would always rather see more troopers rather than fewer troopers, there's a question of what you can afford," Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor's senior adviser told the Day of New London. The police union is still planning legal action to stop the layoffs. But the state wants the judge to dismiss their case.
Union officials noted how the state statute explicitly says the commissioner of public safety "shall appoint and maintain a minimum of 1,248 sworn state police personnel," the Day reports, but the state hasn't had the required number of troopers since February 2009.
The layoffs came after state troopers voted down Malloy's labor concessions deal. The deal would have offered four years of job security in exchange for a two-year wage freeze.
