Federal agencies probing Mashantuckets' former deputy police chief
Apr. 15—MASHANTUCKET — Federal authorities are investigating allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Police Department's former deputy police chief.
Rodney Butler, the tribal chairman, confirmed Thursday that Andre Parker "is no longer employed by the Tribe."
Butler, in a statement, said Kristen DiMauro has been named acting deputy chief.
Both the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs and the FBI confirmed this week that they are investigating the allegations against Parker.
Neither the federal agencies nor the tribe would provide details of the allegations, which sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said involve videos Parker allegedly took of sexual encounters with women.
A Mashantucket police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said Parker allegedly had shown the videos to another officer who reported Parker's actions to superiors. The source said he understood Parker allegedly had recorded some of the videos with his police-issued body camera.
Attempts to reach Parker, 56, of Waterford, were unsuccessful.
"The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation takes allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment very seriously," Butler said in his statement. "We take swift action to investigate complaints, and fully cooperate with outside law enforcement investigations if and when they occur."
"We do not publicly share details about workplace matters and individual team members beyond employment status," Butler said.
According to the anonymous tribal police officer, Parker was placed on indefinite administrative leave at some point over the first weekend of April, less than two weeks ago.
In response to an inquiry from The Day, a BIA spokesman confirmed that the agency was notified April 8 of the allegations against the Mashantucket deputy police chief.
"The FBI is currently leading the investigation into the sexual assault allegation and BIA-OJS Internal Affairs is investigating the allegations of sexual harassment," Robyn Broyles, a BIA public affairs specialist, wrote in an email, making reference to the BIA's Office of Justice Services, which has jurisdiction over crimes committed on Indian reservations.
"Due to the ongoing investigation, BIA is unable to release additional information," Broyles wrote.
Charles Grady, media coordinator in the FBI's New Haven office, confirmed, via email, that the FBI was investigating and that "there is nothing to share at this time."
Parker joined the Mashantucket police force in 2013 after a 25-year career with the Waterford Police Department. He had previously worked for police departments in East Lyme and Old Lyme.
