An independent investigation begun after the arrest of East Lyme police chief Michael Finkelstein last year found the chief destroyed evidence, had an affair with one of his officers, and violated department policies, according to a report.
The report, done by Daigle Law Group, was released on Wednesday.
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WATCH HEREFinkelstein was arrested in June 2024 after a domestic incident at his home in East Lyme.
Officers responded to Finkelstein's home on June 4 after a family member called them to report the incident. The family member told the officers that Finkelstein had assaulted her the night before.
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SIGN UP Finkelstein has been on leave since his arrest.
It wasn't the first time police had visited Finkelstein's home to investigate a domestic disturbance. They also responded on June 18, 2023 after someone called 911 to report a fight in the home. No police report was created about the incident and there were no arrests.
State police were asked to re-investigate the 2023 incident after body-worn camera video was discovered during a review of past incidents involving Finkelstein, according to the report.
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During the law firm's investigation, it was determined that Finkelstein had an affair with an officer in the department. The officer told investigators she and Finkelstein exchanged texts and photos that were sexual in nature on their department phones, according to the report. The officer told them she had deleted all of the texts and photos from her phone.
Finkelstein denied ever sending or receiving texts or photos that were sexual in nature to the officer when he was interviewed by the law firm conducting the investigation. He also told them he had done a "factory reset" on his phone. When asked if he was aware that his phone was subject to Freedom of Information requests that that nothing should be deleted, Finkelstein told the investigator he didn't believe that applied to texts and that he had the right to delete them, according to the report.
The report concluded that Chief Finkelstein provided false information, destroyed evidence, had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, among other things, all which violated department policies.
The East Lyme Police Commission is reviewing the report and will discuss the next steps with the town's lawyers, according to the town website.
