Stamford officer gets probation for hitting woman

STAMFORD

By TOM EVANS

Hour Staff Writer

A Stamford police officer who punched a woman in the face last June during an altercation over a parking dispute will serve 18 months of departmental probation and will not be back on the street for at least a year, according to the police chief.

Robert Nivakoff, who was sworn in as the new police chief in February, said the Internal Affairs Division upheld the charges against Officer Gregory Zach. Nivakoff made all subsequent decisions on disciplinary actions.

"(Officer Zach) was found to have used excessive force," Nivakoff said. "Clearly that behavior is not indicative of our behavior as a department, hence his discipline and nine-point program to come back on the force in full service."

Zach, 27, a veteran of three-and-a-half years on the Stamford force, will work without pay until July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year, according to Nivakoff.

Nivakoff said Zach will begin his 18-month probation on July 1, and will be assigned to the midnight shift in the prison detention wing of the SPD.

According to Nivakoff, Zach will not be on street patrol or eligible to work overtime for the next year, beginning July 1.

Nivakoff could not detail the nine points Zach must adhere to for full reinstatement because of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act restrictions.

Nivakoff reached his conclusions after reading the IA report and conferring with the Police Commission.

"I believe this is firm, fair, balanced and comprehensive for what he has to do before he is restored to full duty," Nivakoff said. "This action combines discipline, re-entry, transition and probation. We believe his actions are an aberration."

The officer's name is highly recognizable among the community now that the altercation between him and downtown nightclub owner Brenda Mazariegos was been made public, according to police information at the time.

Published photographs depicting Mazariegos, 40, with a large, bruised knot on her forehead prompted then-Chief Brent Larrabee to call for an investigation into the matter.

The incident occurred June 25, 2009, shortly before the start of the first Alive @ Five concert series in downtown Stamford, which featured a performance by Smash Mouth.

According to police accounts of the incident, Mazariegos, a resident of Norwalk, was attempting to park in a lot behind The Palms nightclub, which she owns.

Access to the lot was restricted for the concert, but Mazariegos proceeded anyway, while talking on her cell phone, police have said. Zach then stopped Mazariegos, asked her for her license -- which she didn't have -- then ordered her out of the car.

According to police, once outside the car, Mazariegos began to walk away from Zach, who then grabbed her by the arm to detain her. She then swung around, striking the officer in the mouth with her fist. Mazariegos then began flailing her arms and scratching Zach with her nails, at which point, Zach responded by punching the woman in the forehead, police have said.

Mazariegos was arrested and charged with assault on a public safety officer, second-degree breach of peace, interfering with a police officer and operating a motor vehicle without a license. She has pleaded not guilty to those charges and is scheduled to appear back in court Aug. 5.

Mazariegos denies striking the officer first, and her account of the incident differs widely from what is in the police report, said her criminal defense attorney Edwin Camacho.

Camacho said in light of the disciplinary action, he hopes the charges against his client would be dropped, but that has not happened yet.

"We're still on the trial list, on the jury list," Camacho said late Wednesday afternoon. "We haven't heard from the prosecutors about the charges being dropped. (The trial) is still an open date at this point."

Staff writer Chase Wright contributed to this report.