2 Norwalk Police Officers Were Drinking Before Arrest: Warrant

Norwalk CT

07 January, 2021

3:51 PM

Description

NORWALK, CT — The two Norwalk police officers arrested on warrants Tuesday after supervisors found them in a hotel room in October had been drinking and blowing off police calls before they were discovered, according to authorities. Veteran officers Michael Dimeglio and Sara Laudano were charged with second-degree larceny and second-degree reckless endangerment in connection with the incident; additionally, Laudano also was charged with risk of injury to a minor. The two have a history together as Dimeglio is the father of Laudano's child, according to a friend of Laudano's, Jennifer Cruver, who was interviewed by police during the investigation. According to their arrest warrants, the two officers had worked the 4 p.m. to midnight evening shift on Oct. 9, and had accepted overtime assignments to continue working on Oct. 10 from midnight to 4 a.m. due to staffing shortages. The incident began at about 12:45 a.m. on the 10th when a dispatcher could not reach Laudano on her police radio nor on her cell phone. The department then tracked her down using an "automated vehicle locator" in her squad car and discovered the vehicle was at the Even Hotel on Main Avenue. Another officer went to the hotel and spotted Laudano's vehicle in the parking lot, and saw Dimeglio's vehicle in the same lot, and radioed back to headquarters. Laudano and Dimeglio had checked into the hotel under Dimeglio's name; he had made a reservation online for a room, according to the warrant. At about 1 a.m., Sgts. Jeffrey Proudfoot and Garrett Kruger went to the hotel and found an empty six-pack container in Laudano's vehicle (Blue Point Mother Pumpkin Ale beer) and another four-pack plastic container "commonly used to hold four packs of IPA beers." The sergeants also found Laudano's bulletproof vest carrier and body camera on the vehicle's dashboard, according to the warrant. Inside the hotel, the sergeants learned that the two officers were in Room 302, and recognized Dimeglio's voice asking who was there when they knocked on the door. "Sergeant Proudfoot identified himself and after about a minute or two of no one coming to the door, he knocked again," the warrant states. "Officer Dimeglio asked again who was at the door. Sergeant Proudfoot identified himself again and told Officer Dimeglio to stop playing games and open the door." Dimeglio opened the door, and the sergeants saw Dimeglio's "uniform shirt was untucked," and he was barefoot and "was not wearing his duty belt." When confronted, Dimeglio asked "Did I miss a call?" according to the warrant. As for Laudano, she was in the bathroom at the time, according to the warrant. The two were then ordered to get dressed and return to Norwalk police headquarters, which they did. The two officers had checked into the hotel just after 11 p.m. and are seen on surveillance video walking to the room, according to the warrant. Both were in full police uniform; Dimeglio also was seen wearing a face mask due to coronavirus protocols, but Laudano, who was seen holding a brown paper bag, was not wearing one. During the investigation, Norwalk police discovered evidence that Laudano's vehicle had been parked behind High Road School on North Avenue for "a considerable amount of time" that evening. Police later found empty beer cans and bottles, including some Blue Point Mother Pumpkin Ales, according to the warrant. That evening, Laudano also was tracked to a CVS on Main Avenue, where she bought hair care products, according to the warrant, and to the Budget Liquor Store on West Avenue. However, Laudano's friend, Jennifer Cruver who was visiting from Brewerton, New York, purchased the beer and rode with Laudano in her police vehicle to buy it. Before their shifts, Laudano and Dimeglio had a late lunch with Cruver, and Laudano's baby who Cruver was babysitting, at Donovan's on Washington Street, where they had some beers and Peanut Butter shots. After their shift started, they drank more beers in the parking lot at Norwalk Police Headquarters on Monroe Street, according to the warrant. At one point, Laudano also took a drag on a THC vape pen she had with her. Cruver, who was taking care of the baby, rode with Laudano to the liquor store with the baby in a car seat in the back, according to the warrant. The department prohibits civilians to ride in police vehicles in unofficial capacities. Laudano then took Cruver and the baby in the police vehicle to Sedona Taphouse where she dropped Cruver and the baby with Laudano's wife, according to Cruver from the warrant. Cruver met up again with Laudano and Dimeglio at the school parking lot where they drank more beer, at which time Laudano said she didn't want to go home and Dimeglio decided to get the room at the hotel, according to the warrant. The investigation into the two officers involved interviews with other members of the department; interviews with hotel, store and restaurant employees; studying surveillance footage; collecting DNA evidence from the two officers and empty beer bottles; and other investigative means. During the shift, Laudano did not respond to some calls for service, the same as Dimeglio, which is where the larceny charges come in. Essentially, they are accused of receiving hundreds of dollars in pay during their shift, while they were drinking and not working. The risk of injury charge for Laudano stems from her driving the child around while she was drinking, according to the warrant. Both officers are on administrative leave from the department, and are free on bond. They are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 16.