Ex-East Haven cop Jason Zullo gets 2 years in obstruction case Officers ‘trained to keep secrets,’ he says

(Arnold Gold — New Haven Register) Former East Haven Police Officer Jason Zullo (right) walks into federal court in Hartford with his attorney, Norman Pattis, for sentencing on Monday 12/16/2013. (Arnold Gold — New Haven Register) Former East Haven Police Officer Jason Zullo (right) walks into federal court in Hartford with his attorney, Norman Pattis, for sentencing on Monday 12/16/2013. Photo: Journal Register Co. Photo: Journal Register Co. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Ex-East Haven cop Jason Zullo gets 2 years in obstruction case 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD >> Former East Haven police officer Jason Zullo, who pleaded guilty last year to a single obstruction of justice charge in the wake of a Department of Justice investigation into racial profiling allegations, was sentenced Monday to serve two years behind bars.

U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Thompson said the 24-month sentence was “the most appropriate” given the plea deal Zullo reached with federal prosecutors and the nature of the crime, which included ramming a motorcyclist at least three times during a pursuit, causing a crash and then failing to mention in his incident report the fact he struck the motorcycle.

Thompson said he could not help but consider the testimony of multiple witnesses who appeared on the stand when two of Zullo’s fellow officers were on trial in October for their role in a wide-ranging pattern of civil rights abuses. Zullo and the two other officers, David Cari and Dennis Spaulding, were named in a January 2012 federal indictment, the result of a lengthy Department of Justice investigation into the practices of East Haven police officers.

Cari and Spaulding elected to take their cases to trial. Zullo and a fourth defendant, Sgt. Miller, pleaded guilty to charges unrelated to racial profiling. Cari and Spaulding were convicted on all counts.

Zullo, 35, is the first of the four to be sentenced.

Standing before Thompson, Zullo said as a police officer he “had been told and trained to keep secrets.”

“I understand I was wrong,” Zullo noted. “I was a street cop in a tough town and I helped save lives.

“I tried to be a good cop.”

He said the motorcyclist, Robert Salatto, was breaking the law.

“I tried to stop him and he evaded, I chose to engage and I will live with this decision forever,” Zullo said.

Federal prosecutor Krishna Patel called Zullo’s comments the “type of explanation we’ve heard all too often from East Haven police — blaming the victim.”

Patel added that Zullo’s crime was not an isolated act. She referred to the cruiser-to-cruiser electronic chat messages Zullo exchanged with Spaulding, the contents of which were showed to jurors during Spaulding’s trial.

“These were not innocent, juvenile chats,” Patel said. “This man exchanged disturbing and racist chats.”

She also chided Zullo for telling Thompson that the chats were a means of “blowing off some steam.”

“And the explanation of being ‘trained to keep secrets’ — that’s not what police officers are supposed to do, police officers are supposed to be witnesses to the truth,” Patel said.

Zullo’s attorney, Norm Pattis, urged leniency, citing the fact his client’s wife is suffering from a debilitating kidney condition that has prompted Zullo to assume the role of “most active parent” for the couple’s children.

Thompson said he considered multiple factors before arriving at his decision to sentence Zullo to two years in prison. The 24-month sentence itself was the most Thompson could impose due to the plea agreement Zullo reached with prosecutors. The deal also meant Pattis could not seek less than 12 months of prison time.

Sentencing factors Thompson cited included the fact Zullo entered a guilty plea, “sparing the government from a trial,” and the numerous letters of support he received from Zullo’s friends, family members and former co-workers (he has retired from the force). Thompson said he even received a letter from an East Haven Town Council member stressing the strains of a police officer’s job and the circumstances of the community.

“The input from family members and friends demonstrates Mr. Zullo to be a good person but stands in stark comparison to how he treated his victims,” Thompson said. “The letters are a vivid reminder of how much Mr. Zullo has lost and how much more he’s about to lose.”

Thompson noted that testimony from the trial of Spaulding and Cari also “sticks out in my mind most,” specifically statements detailing how Zullo physically assaulted a Hispanic man while he was being held in lock-up at the police station.

As for the incident with Salatto, Thompson also questioned Zullo’s explanation about how police officers are “trained to keep secrets.”

“I don’t know what to make of that,” he said. “The defendant saying he was taught to lie does not reflect well on the East Haven Police Department.”

Outside federal court Pattis called the sentencing “fundamentally unfair” and criticized the notion that information gleaned from the trial of Cari and Spaulding could be used against his client.

“It’s an overreaction by a hysterical court,” he added.

Salatto was accompanied by his girlfriend, who prosecutors stressed was an innocent victim of Zullo’s actions. She was riding with Salatto on the back of his motorcycle at the time of the incident. After Zullo’s sentencing Salatto said he “respected the system.”

At times during Thompson’s statements Salatto could be seen nodding his head in agreement.

“We’re happy with the outcome,” Salatto said.

While he and his girlfriend sat on one side of the courtroom, one row in front of media members and Yale University Law School students, rows on the other side were packed with Zullo’s friends, family members and East Haven police officers.

Spaulding sat in one of the rows to show his support for his friend and former co-worker. He and Cari are set to be sentenced on Jan. 21. Miller sentencing is slated for Feb. 12.

In a prepared statement, Connecticut U.S. District Attorney Deirde M. Daly said Zullo’s false police report and the subsequent evidence obtained in the investigation “revealed examples of this officer’s abuse of his police powers.

“This prosecution and the resulting significant prison term demonstrate that criminal conduct by law enforcement officers will not be tolerated.”

Zullo is also required to spend one year under supervisory release.

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