Former Avon Police Officer Arrested on Charges of Impersonating a Police Officer

A former Avon police officer was arrested on a warrant in Granby on Jan. 29 on charges of impersonating a police officer.

Granby police arrested Gary Cruz, 44, of Agawam, MA, on a warrant for reportedly calling the Granby Police Department on Jan. 17 and identifying himself as an Avon police officer.

Cruz served with the Avon Police Department for about 17 years and was let go in August 2009 in connection with some health issues, according a statement he made to the Avon Town Council on May 6, 2010. He told Channel 3 Eyewitness News in May 2010 that he would fight his termination.

Before that, in May 2009, Cruz filed grievances against Avon Police Chief Mark Rinaldo. At the meeting, he asked the town to conduct an internal investigation of the chief and said that he planned on filing a lawsuit. He has since filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint with the town. The case is pending and has no new developments, Michael Harrington, a Murtha Cullina LLP attorney who represents the town in labor disputes, verified this week.

Last year, Harrington hired Frank Rudewicz of Marcum Consulting to investigate complaints against Rinaldo from employees and the police union. He told Patch he did so that he could give better legal advice to the town regarding the complaints.

Cruz has also told his story on www.radiofreeavon.com. His complaints against Rinaldo are posted on the site, as well as Town Manager Brandon Robertson's letter of reprimand to Rinaldo in Oct. 2010 after the chief went to the East Hartford Police Department to view Capt. Robert Whitty's personnel file.

In Robertson's letter to Rinaldo, he said the Rudewicz report concluded that Rinaldo had not broken the law or any town policies, but  that morale was low in the department.

Cruz declined to comment over the phone, but agreed to speak in person later in the week.

He was issued a $5,000 surety bond and his next court date is scheduled for Feb. 8. at 10 a.m. in Enfield.