During 2024 Police Week, Council 4 honors our distinguished 2,000 front-line police members working for municipalities across the state.

We thank you for your courage and commitment to keep our communities and neighborhoods safe. We recognize in doing so you risk your lives and make continuous sacrifices. We salute you for the knowledge, skills, and bravery you bring to the job that allows you to return home to your families and continue to serve the public with the utmost professionalism. We honor you for going above and beyond to uphold your duty to serve and protect.

Council 4 continues to fight to improve your working conditions, pay, retirement security, and health care and to make sure you receive the respect you deserve - on and off the job. Here are a few highlights of what we won for police officers this legislative session:

• Legislation codifying the establishment of The Fallen Officer Fund which would provide $100,000 non-taxable payment to the surviving family or beneficiary of any Connecticut police officer who dies from injuries sustained on duty.
• Legislation that works towards making the CMERS pension more accessible for towns and cities that currently do not provide officers with pensions. Also furthered our long-term attempt to ensure that every municipal police officer receives a pension.
• Extended the time frame for aid to distressed municipalities and made some small increases to these municipalities
• Helped thwart a secondary stop prevention bill.
• Passage of SB 339 that would require restitution to the police department or individual that owns a police dog that is injured or killed during a search or rescue.

The legislative session has concluded, but Council 4 will not stop fighting for you and every police officer to ensure your rights, pay, retirement security and health care are protected. Making sure your working conditions are safer, that you have the necessary tools to succeed on the job, and that every police officer has a pension are the goals that lead our mission to serve you.

We will be hard at work at the bargaining table and ready for next year's legislative session to build on what we have achieved so far this year.

Thank you for all that you do!

In solidarity,

Troy Raccuia, 
Council 4 Director of Collective Bargaining 
and Retired East Haven Police Officer