MANSFIELD, Conn — An employee of the Department of Correction (DOC) is accused of impersonating a police officer, with the victims telling state police he threatened to arrest and "tase" them.
David Wright, 58, of Ashford, was arrested on June 15 and charged with impersonation of a police officer, breach of peace, and threatening. The bond was set to $5,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court on June 27.
The Connecticut DOC confirmed that Wright has been with the department since 2008. He was placed on paid administrative leave on June 18 as the DOC conducts an internal investigation.
On the evening of June 14, two people in a Volkswagen Jetta stopped at a stop sign in the area of Mansfield City and Crane Hill Roads in Mansfield. They did not see anyone around so they decided to stay at the stop sign to look up directions, according to the arrest warrant.
Wright, driving a Mercury Mountaineer, stopped at the stop sign to the right of the VW. They wave Wright to go, and he appeared to have "said something rude" as he was turning left toward them, the victims told investigators.
The VW then turned around to drive behind him to find out what Wright said to them. Wright then pulled over, and so did the VW.
The victims told investigators that Wright approached the car, pulled out a badge, and started yelling at them. He told them "I'm going to arrest you" and "I'm going to tase you," one victim told investigators.
The two were able to de-escalate Wright and they ended up talking for 20 minutes about people they know on the police force, Wright's involvement in a gun club, hunting, and his alleged stories about arresting people. The victims told investigators they thought the interaction was "odd" and that "something was definitely not right here."
Wright even invited the victims to his house for a beer and gave them his contact information, one victim said.
The arrest warrant states Wright was frustrated with the VW because in other cases where people waved him off at stop signs, they would start pulling forward at the same time he would.
Wright told investigators he did not threaten to arrest, tase or shoot the people in the VW and that he identified himself as a correctional officer. He added that he thought the victims were "funny" and they had a "good conversation."
Wright claimed he thought the two in the VW were drunk, but the investigator said they did not believe the two victims were intoxicated while speaking with them two hours after the incident.
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