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09/06/02 GPD trafficking inquest
Last revised 12/09/05

Significance of key incidents of these events
Key people involved in these events
Incidents leading up to these events
Detail of these events
Some of the later developments related to or that followed these events
WORK ON THIS PAGE IS STILL IN PROGRESS

Significance

see Laws and Related Acts page

 

 

Key people involved in incident

 

 

Events leading up to this incident

 

Incident detail

  • 08/16/02 requests to GPD and SPD for investigation of Dave's possible abduction and trafficking situation

    • Request for investigation was made by me to Groton Police, when they arrived at the scene and while I was in SPD police car.

       

      • GPD officer leaned into the SPD police car, as though he is getting something from the front seat, as I sat alone in the car in the back of the car.  He whispers to me to tell him what was going on.  I relayed what I quickly could, including to what I knew about the relation to possible after-hours parties.  He asked me if I knew where they were taking place and I told him that I didn't know [need to check journal/other notes: if I was aware, by that time, that they were taking place at various locations, I would have told him that]  He told me that he was going to look into what I had just told him.

        • In trying to follow-up on this later, Smythe appears to be the officer did this.  In trying to reach him, I learn that  reportedly he went on leave of absence shortly after - or GPD were telling me that when I called the station.  This was possibly by the day after the incident.  I later learned that Smythe was reportedly subsequently forced to resign in October 2003, due to alleged inappropriate behavior of the police dog he was responsible for handling.

        • Lewim, whose name also appears on that Dispatch Review, told me, in a meeting with him on 04/  /03, that he doesn't think he'd been at that scene on 08/16/02

    • GPD was denying to me that anyone from their department had received request for investigation or was investigating

  • 09/02/02 Labor Day SPD Lt. Stewart finally agrees to investigate, saying that he will work with GPD

  • 09/03/02

    Tuesday, September 3, 2002 
    Call to Lt. Stewart, Stonington.  Still nothing but [he said] it was really a Groton matter.  I told him that it was really both because what I suspected marked the beginning of the abduction, i.e., the 8/8 incident, took place in Stonington. . . . Asked who he was working with in Groton because I wanted to talk to them, as well, and he said Lt Graves and Lt Curtis.

    Called Groton and talked to Lt Curtis.  He didn’t know the whole story, was just asked to try to locate Dave and that no one knew where he was.  I explained why the Mystic Shipyard didn’t know.  He didn’t even seem to have the correct name, although he didn’t seem to be reading from notes.  He [Lt Curtis] was also told (by Stonington) that Dave worked in the wooden shack there.   No.   I explained Dave’s contract arrangement.

    [I] Also said I could give him the name of someone else who worked in the same situation but that I’m trying not to have too many people contacted.  I gave him Laura’s name, who I suspected had [Dave] in their custody or who should know where he is.   Also told him the name of where Dave was supposed to be living, as well as the condition of his living quarters the last time I saw it.

    Repeated that “just want Dave safe/here, that neither of us would press charges.” 

    Also gave him my phone# and address to give Dave, and description and plate numbers of Dave and Sal’s cars.

    When he asked Dave’s DOB, I gave him the wrong one, but didn’t realize it until later.  End of day, called Groton Police again.   Lt Curtis had already left for the day.  Gave Lt Graves the correct DOB, 5/7/72.  Also told him of what I last knew of the condition of his living quarters and what to expect of his possible behavior/fear to talk.

     

  • Summary of GPD's "investigation"

    • Groton PD later tells me that this was investigated as a "missing person" report

    • According to a report by SPD LT. Stewart, Groton Police allegedly questioned/"interviewed" David at a residence, pursuant to this investigation

    • According to Groton PD Sgt. Grabowski, David was not alone when he was "interviewed" by GPD, although Ms. Grabowski did not know the identity of those with him

     

  • 09/08/02, in a conversation with him pursuant to the SPD 08/16/02 Dispatch Log I'd received the previous Thursday, SPD Lt. Stewart  

    casually mentions, as a "by the way," that "someone" had told him that Dave had come into the Stonington Police Station sometime during Stewart's recent days off and that someone from Groton Police also talked to Dave and that "he's okay."

    • Stewart knew, and GPD also knew, how distraught I'd been since Dave's abduction and how anxious I was to hear of any word on him


  • SPD incorporates GPD's "investigation" into SPD reports of its 09/06/02 SPD trafficking inquest and relays this to FBI NH who, in turn, uses that information as part of the basis of its 08/12/03 response to FBI HQ 08/08/03 inquiry  However, it appears that FBI NH reports it as an "interview" that has been done by Waterford police

 

Related documents

  • I was told by GPD that this report was unavailable to me because they had received the request through SPD and, therefore, as far as they were concerned, the incident did not relate to me and GPD would not release the incident report to me.  [Need to include notes of conversation with CT FOI office regarding this.]

 

 

Later developments of this incident

 

 

 

WORK ON THIS PAGE IS STILL IN PROGRESS

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