DOJ Opens Civil Rights Probes of Waterbury and Middletown Over Carry Permits

The Justice Department opened civil rights investigations into the Waterbury and Middletown, Connecticut, police departments on October 22. The reviews concern denials and delays in issuing permits to carry a firearm.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division sent letters that day to Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. and Chief Fernando C. Spagnolo Jr. A second letter went to Middletown Mayor Gene Nocera and Chief Erik M. Costa. The Division’s Second Amendment Section will run both investigations.

The legal basis is the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 34 U.S.C. § 12601. It bars state and local governments from a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives people of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. Each investigation will evaluate the department’s policies and practices as a local permitting authority under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-28. The Middletown letter cites subsections (a) and (c) of that section.

The Justice Department’s announcement rests on the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. That ruling recognized that the right to keep and bear arms applies inside and outside the home. In it, the Court warned against “lengthy wait times in processing license applications.”

The announcement says the two departments may be unreasonably denying otherwise qualified applicants a concealed-carry permit. It says those applicants may then face a potentially years-long appeal process. “All law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self‑defense,” Dhillon said.

The letters say the Division has reached no conclusions. It may interview city and police officials and people who applied for a carry permit. If it finds no pattern or practice, it will notify each city and close the case. If it finds reasonable cause to believe violations are occurring, it will publish its findings and try to reach an agreement on a remedy. Failing that, the Attorney General can sue in U.S. District Court. The letters add that, in the Division’s years of enforcing civil rights statutes, most violations it uncovered were resolved without contested litigation.

The Connecticut letters follow a similar step eight days earlier. On October 14, the Justice Department opened an investigation of Pennsauken, New Jersey, over what it called “egregious and unjust delays” in issuing firearm licenses. That release quoted Bruen as saying a permitting process is put toward “abusive ends” when lengthy wait times or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.

The Second Amendment Section is led by Acting Chief Barry Arrington, whom both letters name as the contact for questions. The Section’s page says it investigates law enforcement agencies for a pattern or practice of infringing Second Amendment rights. It also brings lawsuits. The Justice Department sued San Jose, California, on September 16 over a $1600 firearm permit fee, and sued Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul on September 24 over a firearm purchase waiting period.

Neither Connecticut letter sets a date for finishing the review. People who believe their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed can file a complaint through the Second Amendment Section’s web page. Each city must name its contact within five business days of receiving its letter, which went by certified mail and email on October 22.