New London — An attorney for suspended Police Chief Margaret Ackley is looking for an apology from Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio on the heels of an independent investigation that found “no evidence to support any wrongdoing” on the part of the chief, whom Finizio suspended in July, citing allegations of misconduct.

Attorney Kathleen Eldergill said in a report made public late Monday night that Finizio would not be able to demonstrate that he has “just cause” to fire Ackley and that “there is no evidence her behavior justifies her dismissal.”

Finizio placed Ackley on paid administrative leave in July, citing 10 allegations against the chief, including claims she interfered in police union business and contract negotiations, misrepresented financial information and targeted union members for discipline while refusing to discipline political allies.

Eldergill’s 15-page report addresses all 10 allegations. While her report cites significant deficiencies within the department — including underfunding, understaffing and “a long-term, deep-seated animosity on the part of some members of the department towards Chief Ackley” — Eldergill found no evidence to substantiate any of Finizio’s claims.

Richard Padykula, a lawyer for West Hartford-based Rosenblatt Law, said he was pleased and “not surprised” by the findings of Eldergill’s report. The Rosenblatt law firm represents Ackley.

“Mayor Finizio owes an apology to Chief Ackley and the citizens of New London for wasting their tax dollars and interfering with Chief Ackley’s ability to protect them,” Padykula said.

“This has been a long ordeal for Chief Ackley. She had to deal with a lot of negative press as a result of the political machine in New London,” he said. “This report validates everything we’ve been saying all along — that Chief Ackley did nothing wrong and did not deserve to be put on administrative leave. The ball’s in the mayor’s court right now.”

Padykula said his law firm intended to reach out to Finizio to “effectuate a resolution to this.”

City Councilor Erica Richardson, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, said Tuesday she was not at all surprised by Eldergill’s conclusions and agreed that Finizio owes Ackley an apology.

“This, right now, has egg all over his face. This is something he pushed for. He pushed for this, saying this is the only way we can get her out,” she said. “This may be another nail in the coffin of Mayor Finizio. It shows poor judgment again on his part.”

Richardson, who spoke highly of some policies Ackley implemented as chief and her focus on community policing, said she thought there was “no basis for any of this” and that a personality conflict lies at the root of the discord between Finizio and Ackley.

“We’ve been distracted by this as a city for too long. It’s been almost a year on this alone,” Richardson said. “It’s been way longer, almost since he came into office, on what’s been going on with the police department in general. And it’s no fault to her for wanting to do her job and him thinking he knows how to do her job better.”

Richardson and other city councilors expressed concern Tuesday that Ackley’s position in seeking a settlement or incentive-laden separation package is likely bolstered by Eldergill’s findings.

“Now I think our liability is pretty much cemented,” Councilor Michael Passero said. “The council is going to have to make the ultimate decision if there is a settlement prospect. This report is important to know where the truth lies. ... It has its value as far as establishing the facts.”

Councilor Martin T. Olsen said Finizio “has compromised the city’s position” by pursuing his options to remove Ackley as chief.

“It galls me that we have been paying Chief Ackley what will be nine months at the end of this month to sit home just to find out that the mayor’s claims and charges hold no water,” he said.

In a statement issued by the mayor's office Monday night, Law Director Jeffrey T. Londregan said Ackley “will remain on paid administrative leave and the mayor’s prior standing orders to the chief shall remain in full force and effect” until April 30.

“The mayor has just reviewed the report for the first time; and while he completely respects Attorney Eldergill’s skills and abilities to perform this type of investigation, he needs time to properly review and analyze her findings to see if he concurs with all of her conclusions,” Londregan said in the statement.

On Tuesday, Finizio said he will not comment on Eldergill’s report or the next steps in the investigation of Ackley “until (he’s) had a full opportunity to consult with city staff and attorneys, and to thoroughly review the report.”

Eldergill did not find any evidence that Ackley “acted to subvert the authority of the mayor to ... hire new police personnel” or misrepresented the department’s finances or the cost of the proposed union contract.

Further, Ackley’s statement that the new police union contract would “cost tax payers more than [a] million dollars” was fairly accurate, Eldergill found, citing documentation showing the mayor’s office estimated the two-year contract would require an additional $875,000 over two fiscal years.

Ackley’s claim that the mayor’s budget underfunded her department and her assertion that she would not be able to use money put in a contingency fund by the City Council to hire new officers until Finizio gave her authorization was “an effort to communicate information important to securing proper funding for her department,” Eldergill wrote.

“The evidence I have reviewed demonstrates that these statements were not misrepresentations, but rather well-founded statements of fact recited by Chief Ackley,” she wrote. “Indeed, it appears that the department’s failure to hire police personnel, to the extent it occurred, was due to budgetary decisions made either by the mayor, or by the City Council, which had mandated minimum staffing of 80 officers but had not appropriated funds to hire those new personnel.”

Eldergill also found no evidence that Ackley “acted to subvert the authority of the mayor to negotiate contracts” or undermined the collective bargaining process that led to the current police union contract.

After she participated in two bargaining sessions, Finizio directed Ackley to have no further involvement when the union representatives indicated they would not negotiate with the chief at the table. When the city reached a tentative agreement with the union, Ackley expressed her disapproval.

“It is undisputed that the union was unwilling to have Ackley participate in the process because it knew she was opposed (to) many of their demands and the mayor acquiesced to the union’s position in removing her from the negotiations,” Eldergill wrote. “As a result, Ackley had no input into the result that was achieved in spite of her substantial experience in successfully managing the department.”

Local police union president Todd Lynch said the union respected Eldergill's conclusions but said union grievances related to the collective bargaining process would be taken up with the state labor board, "not an independent investigator hired by the city."

Eldergill found no evidence that Ackley specifically targeted union members for discipline while excusing actions of her political allies within the department.

“I have found no evidence that discipline meted out to employees active in the union was unwarranted, inappropriate or disproportionate,” she wrote.

Eldergill was hired by the City Council in February. Previously, Finizio had recommended the city spend $92,500 to have the former head of both the FBI and CIA conduct the investigation of Ackley’s conduct.

Eldergill spent two months on the investigation and interviewed two dozen people including Ackley, Finizio, numerous police officers, police union leaders and Finance Director Jeff Smith.

Padykula said Ackley wants to provide her side of the story directly but "is still under a directive from Mayor Finizio that explicitly prohibits her from communicating directly with the press."

c.young@theday.com

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung

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