BRIDGEPORT — Louis Rinaldo, a 20-something who the police department “took under its wing” and an occasional mayoral chauffer, has been fired for improperly showing up at the August 16 crime scene where an officer was filmed clubbing a suspect in the head with a gun.
While that officer — Gianni Capozziello — received all the initial public attention and is the subject of an ongoing internal probe, sources had said the investigation was quietly expanded to review how and why Rinaldo, a civilian, was present.
Late Wednesday evening the mayor’s office confirmed that to be the case and also said that Rinaldo had already been terminated.
“Chief (Armando) Perez became aware that Louis Rinaldo was at the scene of the incident in question upon initiation of the internal investigation,” Rowena White, Mayor Joe Ganim’s communications director, wrote in a statement to Hearst Connecticut Media.
White said that Perez subsequently fired Rinaldo for his “unauthorized” actions and placed the shift commander, identified only as a Lieutenant Robinson, on administrative leave, also for “unauthorized actions.”
White did not elaborate further. Some sources have claimed Rinaldo was riding along in a patrol car that responded to Capozziello’s call for backup after pulling over a vehicle reported stolen.
In 21 seconds of footage from the August 16 incident captured by a bystander and shared the following day on social media, an officer alleged to be Capozziello approaches the driver, who had exited the vehicle and was turned away from the officer, arms in the air, and strikes him in the head, knocking him down.
Rinaldo does not appear in the brief video. The city has not released police uniform or...
from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Chief-s-helper-occasional-Ganim-driver-fired-14383486.php
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