PENSION REVOKED FOR EX-CONNECTICUT TROOPER

The state has revoked the pension of former Trooper Aaron Huntsman, who stole cash and a gold chain from a dying motorcyclist after a crash

By Christine Dempsey

The Hartford Courant
November 21, 2015

HARTFORD, Connecticut -- The state has revoked the pension of a former state trooper who stole cash and a gold chain from a dying motorcyclist after a crash, according to a spokeswoman from the state's attorney general's office.

Judge Constance L. Epstein granted a motion seeking the revocation of Aaron Huntsman's pension on Friday in Superior Court, Jaclyn Falkowski said.

Huntsman pleaded guilty to third-degree larceny and tampering with evidence, both felonies, on July 16, 2014, in Superior Court in Bridgeport. He pleaded under the Alford doctrine, which means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that the state had enough evidence for a conviction. He was sentenced to a year in prison on Oct. 10, 2014.

According to the warrant for his 2012 arrest, Huntsman, the lead investigator, took $3,700 in cash and a gold chain valued at $5,500 from the Fairfield crash scene, saying he would put it into evidence. When questioned by a supervisor, he admitted to having the chain but denied knowledge of the missing money, the warrant said. He said he left the chain in a cup holder in his police car, inside a glove, and had forgotten about it, it said.

The cash later was found wrapped in a rubber band under the front passenger seat of Huntsman's car, the warrant said.

He left the state police in May 2013. Attorney General George Jepsen filed the request to revoke his pension in October 2014, after Huntsman was sentenced.

Huntsman, who was 43 at the time of his arrest, would have been eligible to begin receiving a monthly pension benefit of about $1,530 on July 1, 2024, Falkowski said.

"Theft related to an individual's state or municipal position is a serious violation of the public trust and this particular case represented an unconscionable violation of that trust on the part of a law enforcement officer," Jepsen said.

"In 2008, the General Assembly granted my office authority to seek a pension revocation or reduction from a state or municipal official convicted of a felony in connection with their public position. With this court order, Connecticut taxpayers will no longer be on the hook for Mr. Huntsman's pension."