Groton — The inner fold of a flyer from state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, features photographs of Mayor Keith Hedrick and police officers and staff members — which her Democratic opponent, Bob Statchen, says were used without permission and are misleading.

Statchen says the flyer gives the impression the Groton City mayor and its police department support her reelection, misleading voters. Somers' campaign responded that the photos were available publicly online and that the flyer was generally intended to be supportive of police.

Hedrick, a Statchen supporter, commented on the use of the photographs in a Facebook post. The police department union noted, also on Facebook, that it has not endorsed a candidate in the Senate race.

“I’m very disappointed to hear that Senator Somers didn’t respect City of Groton police officers, staff, and Mayor Hedrick enough to even ask for permission,” Statchen said in a statement released by his campaign. “This amounts to using the Mayor, a Navy veteran and highly-respected civil servant, as well as the City of Groton police officers and staff as campaign props ... It will also mislead voters. Legislators are supposed to put their constituents first — not their own political interests. The people of eastern Connecticut expect and deserve far more from their elected officials.”

"Rather than talk about the issues that matter to law enforcement or public safety, Statchen wants to complain about the inclusion of photos of police in a positive mail piece about supporting police, which included no implied endorsement — and which were publicly available on social media," said Jon Conradi, a spokesman for the Somers campaign.

Conradi said Somers recently was endorsed by the Stonington Police Union and the Connecticut State Fraternal Order of Police. The campaign previously announced she had been endorsed by the Police Officers Union of Connecticut and the New London Police Union.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com