The deputy commander at the New Haven Police training academy was fired after she lied about a traffic stop she conducted after a citizen reportedly honked at her, The Middletown Press reports.
According to a report from Internal Affairs, a citizen had honked her horn at Sgt. Shayna Kendall when Kendall failed to proceed after a stoplight turned green on the morning of July 7, 2021. The citizen, a nurse who was in her way to work, said she feared for her safety after Kendall did a U-turn and followed her with flashing lights in an unmarked police car, saying she thought the lights were “novelty lights” someone was using in a fit of road rage.
When Kendall pulled alongside the nurse and powered down her window, the nurse ducked, thinking she was about to get shot.
“You didn’t realize it was a police officer in front of you?” Kendall asked according to the citizen’s complaint filed by the nurse, who replied that she didn’t realize the vehicle belonged to law enforcement since it was unmarked. Kendall then told the nurse that she was being detained.
Kendall reportedly told investigators that there was construction underway on the street that day, but the nurse responded that there was no work in progress that day — an account that was later confirmed by a public works official.
According to Internal Affairs, the complaint was legitimate based on the “preponderance of the evidence,” as well as the alleged “untruthful and inaccurate responses” from Kendall. Internal Affairs also cited an incident from 2007 where it was recommended that Kendall be dismissed for “dishonesty” as a recruit in training. She later quit and filed a complaint claiming bias and was hired by the New Haven Police Department in 2009.
This Thursday, the Board voted to terminate Kendall’s employment with the New Haven Police Department.
“I have worked with Sgt. Kendall in the past and I hold her in very high regard,” Police Commissioner Michael Lawlor said. “But, my vote is mainly based on the fundamental issue of the obligation of police officers to be truthful in any official proceeding, whether it is a police report or an arrest warrant affidavit or a search warrant affidavit or an Internal Affairs interview where everyone is put on notice that they have an absolute legal obligation to make truthful statements in response to questions.”
In her complaint, the nurse said she was “very upset at a police official exhibiting road rage and abusing her power. I was harassed and detained,” adding that Kendall never requested her license, registration and insurance and feels the traffic stop and her ultimate detention was a response to her having honked her horn.
