New London — A K-9 training policy at the New London Police Department unfairly outsources work that should be done in-house, the city police union alleges in a grievance that has been pending since April 30.

The union said the issue began when Chief Peter Reichard learned Todd Lynch, who has trained K-9s for 25 years, no longer was certified by the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association.

CPWDA President Dan Lane declined to comment for this article, but Lynch, who is president of the police union, said he believes he lost the certification after his K-9, Jasper, died in April 2016. Lynch said he thought he was a life member of the CPWDA — meaning the police department didn't need to pay annual dues on his behalf — but apparently that was true only while his K-9 was alive.

"The president is a Waterford cop," Lynch said of Lane. "I would have thought he would have given me a phone call to say, 'Hey, you need to pay your dues again.' But he didn't."

To be certified by the CPWDA, one must be a member of the private organization. Thus, when Lynch lost his membership, he also lost his certification.

Capt. Todd Bergeson, who oversees the Patrol Division and thus the K-9 program, said Lynch has been training New London's K-9s since he came to the city from the state police in 2007.

The Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council doesn't require third-party certification for an officer to train K-9s. However, Reichard and other department leaders feared the missing certification could prompt prosecutors to stop taking K-9-related cases out of New London.

"We're not saying Lynch is not a good trainer," Bergeson said on behalf of the department, which has brought on three new K-9s since October 2017. "He's phenomenal. But he didn't have the (third-party) backing, which the court wanted. And we agreed, so we had the dogs certified through a CPWDA instructor in good standing."

Lynch said he was OK with the initial certification, but when he noticed the CPWDA becoming involved in monthly training, too, he and the union filed their grievance.

"It's a violation of policies, procedures and past practice," Lynch said. "It's our work to train our dogs, do firearms training, do many things here. If they're going to outsource that and take our jobs away, they have to bargain with the union."

Lynch, as the department's go-to trainer, is the one who misses out on work if the CPWDA is called instead. But he said Officer John Michaud, who handles K-9 Whaler — a 2-year-old German shepherd trained in patrol and narcotics — also misses out on hours he's trying to collect to become a trainer himself.

Lynch said he, Reichard, Mayor Michael Passero and Steven Fields — the city's chief administrative officer — have worked out a spoken agreement in which New London officers would do all of the city's K-9 training and the CPWDA would do a once-a-year certification of the dogs. But as of Friday, he said, that agreement had not been put on paper.

Lynch said a hearing with the state is scheduled for Sept. 3.

"I hope to come up with a written agreement before then," he said.

The K-9s

In addition to the Michaud-Whaler team, Officer Justin Lawrie is paired with narcotics K-9 Asher, a Labrador, and Officer Chris Bunkley handles Iris, a Belgian Malinois trained in patrol and narcotics.

Bergeson said police hope to have a fourth K-9 road-ready by the fall, which would bring the department into compliance with a 2013 city ordinance requiring it to maintain four K-9 teams. Officer Joe Kondash would handle the fourth dog.

The makeup of New London's K-9 squad also is a point of contention, as two of the last five dogs purchased have been returned. The union bought both of the dogs that didn't work out — a German shepherd named Rocky and a Belgian Malinois named Jesse — from Nordberg kennel in upstate New York, Lynch said.

Though the kennel has no online presence, Lynch said he learned of it while with the state police and that many agencies use it.

Police returned Rocky, initially paired with Bunkley, before the two attempted training. But Jesse wasn't sent back until more than a year after being certified by the CPWDA, Lynch said. The dog, paired with Kondash, had become uncontrollably aggressive.

"How are you going to sign off on a dog and then a year later say you can't fix its problems?" Lynch asked.

Bergeson said it's not uncommon for dogs to have issues. Some breeds aren't the right fit for a first-time handler. Sometimes dogs tested before pickup develop bad traits while en route to their new homes. Others are naturally too aggressive, or too friendly.

"In fairness to the CPWDA, they're outstanding and we work well with them," Bergeson said. "But Lynch is still our go-to trainer. That hasn't stopped."

l.boyle@theday.com