A youth services officer with the state's Department of Children and Families is under arrest for allegedly impersonating a Hartford police officer.
On Wednesday, Hartford police released the arrest photo of Luis Dacunha of Newington to NBC Connecticut. Dacunha was charged earlier this month, following an incident officers say at the Koji Restaurant in downtown Hartford.
According to the arrest warrant, Dacunha appeared intoxicated and was bothering customers when he threatened to have the city shut down Koji in late November.
Court papers said when the owners advised they were calling police, Dacunha replied, “I am the police” and flashed a gold badge. That badge, according to authorities was later identified by officers as a Department of Children and Families badge.
A police report also obtained by the Troubleshooters states Dacunha admitted to the incident.
According to a state database, listing employee titles and earnings, Dacunha made more than $95,000.00 in 2015 as a YSO for DCF.
NBC Connecticut stopped by Dacunha’s home, but nobody answered. His attorney, Peter Odlum of Bayer, Odlum and Hyde, told the Troublshooters he thinks the impersonation charge will be resolved.
A statement released to the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters from a DCF spokesman read in part:
“The Department is investigating an employee for serious off duty misconduct in connection with an incident reported to us by the Hartford Police Department. The employee is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. While the incident under investigation is not connected to any children or any children that we serve, we expect that our employees will conduct themselves in a responsible manner at all times even when they are not at work.
