Groton Town Manager John Burt answered a series of questions about police accountability during an email exchange on Thursday.

The Day: Do you routinely review civilian complaints that are handled by the police department, and are you generally satisfied with the process and outcomes?

Burt: Yes, I do routinely review civilian complaints. I am generally satisfied with the process and outcomes. The police administration takes complaints seriously and thoroughly investigates each complaint containing sufficient detail to do so.

The Day: Do you have any concerns about the culture within the town police department?

Burt: The Groton Town Police have strong departmental leadership, coupled with officers trying to keep our community safe. Our rank and file officers are the roots of a community policing program, and their day to day activities reflect our emphasis on a guardian police culture.

The Day: Is the town making any efforts to recruit more officers of color?

Burt: Yes, that is a topic regularly discussed between me and Chief (Louis J.) Fusaro.  The town as a whole has increased efforts at recruitment to better represent our community, and I am especially interested in achieving this within our police department.

The Day: Do you support the current effort to create a civilian review board?

Burt: I do support civilian oversight. To that end, the Town Council is putting in place the first step of establishing a Public Safety Committee, which will include reviewing further initiatives that ensure transparency and accountability in an appropriate/unbiased manner.

The Day: Do you have any comments on how the police accountability bill currently being debated in Hartford would impact town police and police in general?

Burt: I support many of the measures in the bill. I fully support measures to hold any bad police officers accountable. I do hope, however, that our legislators fully consider the nature of existing qualified immunity and its current role in holding bad officers accountable, before making sweeping changes that may, if not carefully considered, negatively impact good officers or deter individuals from pursuing law enforcement careers.