February 11, 2025

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Old Saybrook PD chief says allegation of ‘unpleasant’ work environment is untrue

Old Saybrook PD chief says allegation of ‘unpleasant’ work environment is untrue

Police Chief Michael Spera claimed PERF has not conducted “the proper amount of research to comment on ‘Department and Culture.”

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. — The Old Saybrook police chief released a 27-page response Thursday to a report by an independent research firm that provided recommendations on the police department’s officer retention issues.

The Police Executive Research Forum, or PERF, provided 31 recommendations to the police department in a recent report. While Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera claimed that the department was losing officers due to pay and benefits, PERF’s study allegedly found “most officers leave OSPD because of the unpleasant work environment.” 

In their report, PERF said both current and former OSPD employees alleged “excessive overtime, concentration of decision-making authority, double standards between what is expected of them and what is expected of the department’s leaders, unnecessary report writing, complications in taking leave, verbal abuse and intimidation, a heavy-handed approach to enforcement and a fear of retaliation.”

Spera’s response countered numerous allegations made in the report, including the “culture and environment declared/described by PERF is simply not true,” despite “everyday workplace shortcomings.”

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“I have tried to avoid commenting on PERF’s hearsay, conjecture, and libelous remarks about me which exist throughout their submission as best as possible,” Spera said. “Instead, I’ve tried to focus on addressing factual matters that I feel the Town and their agent may have overlooked, not considered or did not research properly. Additionally, there are matters highlighted by PERF that have to do with collective bargaining that, as we discussed, would be best addressed in detail by Town Labor Counsel.”

Spera noted the report failed to mention positive aspects of the police department, including Annual Strategic Planning Sessions to allow for direct employee input; successful projects to strengthen community interaction, officer safety and delivery of services; a consistent “open door policy,” and other elements and accomplishments.

He claimed PERF has not conducted “the proper amount of research to comment on ‘Department and Culture.”

“However, treating unverified comments of departed employees without context as facts, while refusing to accept positive comments as truthful, and failing to conduct the proper research, especially with the materials provided, does not yield an independent research based report. It does however create an editorial to serve a fictional narrative,” Spera said.

Below is Spera’s full response to the report:


RELATED: Research firm makes 31 recommendations to address officer retention issues at Old Saybrook Police Department

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