New London ― An investigation has found only a technical violation of department policy by a New London police captain accused of “double dipping,” or earning pay from his teaching job while on duty and then trying to change internal payroll records.

A report on the investigation into New London Police Captain Todd Bergeson concluded that Bergeson ― placed on paid administrative leave for more than two months ― altered department wage payment records, “but did not act nefariously or otherwise in order to achieve private gain.”

The investigation by the Hartford-based law firm Rose Kallor determined that Bergeson, after being accused of simultaneously being paid by the department during times he was working as an adjunct professor at Mitchell College, went into the department’s computer system to retroactively make changes and use vacation time for the hours he was teaching.

Bergeson worked for Mitchell College from 2019 to 2021 and was authorized by the department to use his accrued comp time or change his schedule to accommodate his teaching hours.

In November 2022, Bergeson claims he logged into the department’s scheduling system to check on his accrued hours because he wanted to donate some time to his brother, Lt. Joshua Bergeson, the report states. Joshua Bergeson had been out for surgery and nearly exhausted all of his leave time.

It was at that time that Todd Bergeson said he noticed his time teaching was not reflected in records.

The Vision Computer Solutions system used by the department automatically shows captains working 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In December, Todd Bergeson worked with the police chief’s assistant to re-code times and enter vacation time during the times he was teaching.

The investigation showed there were 96 changes made to wage records for Bergeson’s work hours from Sept. 6, 2019, to Nov. 20, 2021, and 198.75 vacation hours were used up retroactively. Some of the changes made, however, did not properly align with the days Bergeson was teaching, the reports shows.

The report concluded, “Captain Bergeson did not attain any personal gain during the time for which his teaching at Mitchell College was not properly accounted.”

The investigation was prompted by questions raised in November while Bergeson was testifying in connection with a lawsuit filed by fellow officer Lt. Cornelius Rodgers. Rodgers has a pending civil suit against the department that claims he was treated unjustly and faced harsher punishments compared to his white counterparts. Rodgers’ attorney, Jacques Parenteau, alleged that Bergeson was being paid by Mitchell College at the same time he was being paid by the city and had changed payroll records to cover it up.

Bergeson was place on paid administrative leave on March 27 and returned to work in mid-June when the investigation was completed. It is unclear if he faced any discipline as a result of the findings of the probe.

The investigation determined Bergeson did not provide untruthful testimony about the work hours but did “technically” violate a general order that an employee shall not “improperly alter a report or record.”

”This investigator does not believe Captain Bergeson’s amendments to his time records were made in an intentionally false or malicious manner or for an improper purpose,“ the report states.

The investigation concluded that Bergeson made an effort to amend the time records once he learned about the discrepancies.

The investigation also determined that policies are unclear about how Bergeson “should have proceeded when he noticed the errors.”

Todd Bergeson could not be reached for comment for this report.

g.smith@theday.com