STAMFORD – A vacation in Hawaii not only cost a former Connecticut police officer his job, but also led to criminal charges being brought against him.
Donald Chen was granted two weeks off from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15 by the Stamford police department so he could report for training with his U.S. Army Reserves unit.
Chen, who joined the department in April 2014, is an Army Reservist. In October he requested the time off, saying he had gotten orders to report for training. He was excused for duty and continued to get full pay, which is department policy.
On December 8 the Army called Stamford Police looking for Chen, who had not yet showed up. No one was able to contact or locate him, and the police department launched an official missing person case.
Police got information that Chen had gone to Hawaii for vacation with his girlfriend, and soon after Chen contacted the department. At first he lied, saying he was in Taiwan for a family emergency involving his “sick” father, but then admitted that he was on vacation.
Chen resigned on December 14 and was arrested on December 29. He was charged with first-degree felony larceny and defrauding a public community. Chen was released on a promise to appear in court on January 11.
He turned himself in to police on Tuesday and his attorney declined comment.
