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Norwalk: More Proof That Alcohol, Guns and Off Duty Police Don’t Mix


by turfgrrl


August 8th, 2007 · 28 Comments

So let’s see here, officer Callahan goes to a bar in his off duty hours packing his .38 caliber revolver. At 1:30 am, Callahan goes the bathroom and some guy walks in and says, “is that a gun in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?” Were the pants up or down? Was everyone involved drunk or not? DId they all get in cars and drive off?

Let’s just say that officer Callahan’s story is exactly as it was. Should off duty cops go out drinking carrying weapons? I think not, it shows a lack of judgement. Look what happened to Vice President Cheney when he decided to mix a little alcohol, a shotgun and a hunting with a close friend.

source: The Hour Officer claims bar incident was misunderstanding by Noelle Frampton, August 8, 2007

Tags: In the News · Norwalk

28 Responses so far ↓ “Norwalk: More Proof That Alcohol, Guns and Off Duty Police Don’t Mix”



  • 1 Anonymous // Aug 8, 2007 at 8:51 am

    I want a municipal job! And I thought weather forecasters had it easy. Impossible to get fired in Norwalk; let’s see: Callahan, Gunn, Corda, Morris, anyone else? How about a Wall of Shame for the entrance to City Hall?

  • 2 John Velasquez // Aug 8, 2007 at 9:30 am

    Turfy wrote

    “is that a gun in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?”

    Thanks Turfy that was my first laugh of the morning, and a good one. LOL.

    I noticed that in Bridgeport I believe they FIRED to police officers and suspended one, for misconduct.

    I am curious to see the outcome of this action. Here in Norwalk we retire people with full benefits when they show up for work drunk several times.

  • 3 ANONYMOUS // Aug 8, 2007 at 10:56 am

    I am sure he will be fired AGAIN. If the courts find him not guilty or the case is dismissed, the state labor board will force the city to take him back with back pay. I think they rely on that innocent til proven guilty thing way too much.

  • 4 Mr Greenpeace // Aug 8, 2007 at 11:27 am

    I wouldn’t want to sound like I was defending anyone but Bridgeport does have almost three times as many police officers than Norwalk so the ratio isn’t that bad for a city like ours with 40,000 less residents .I’m not always good with the math but it seems reasonable.

    That is right up there with being the 106th safest city last year in the country,,any ideas how we have done this year in the standing? (yes I do, just thought I’d wait until all the figures are in)

    In defense of the rest of the dept maybe another thread on Cesar, Greg and the rest of the officers on the Night out against crime should have a spot here on the blog,,we are always saying what about the positive things maybe a place where we could thank the Norwalk police would work,,I’m sure no one would mind we make the public servants in the city shine in a spotlight rather than headline them with a minority.

    just a thought

  • 5 the truth // Aug 8, 2007 at 12:14 pm

    why spotlight the positive?..that is not fun
    It is easier to ridicule, second guess,and give opinions without all the facts
    c’on Mr. Greenpeace you make sense but look at who we are dealing with..people with agendas, newspapers with agendas.

  • 6 Anonymous // Aug 8, 2007 at 1:57 pm

    Mr Greenpeace still waiting for you to answer where you got the list of moneys given to the cities you mentioned under Homeland security grants, not doubting you just want the source.

  • 7 insider // Aug 8, 2007 at 2:29 pm

    I’m sure all you geniuses already know this because you obviously no everything already anyway. But I’ll state it nontheless. What the paper doesn’t tell you(as usual)was that in the police report is that this “victim” was so distraught by officer Callahan’s actions that when he left the bathroom he simply went back to the bar and continued drinking until closing. He was also so drunk that he was unable to identify officer Callahan in a photo line-up the nest day and described him as being 5ft. tall. Well officer Callahan is 6ft. Our “victim” also has 3 prior convictions. One of which was fighting with a police officer. Sorta sounds like the guy has it in for cops to me. In any event there were only two witness to the incident if there even was one. Officer Callahan who was totally sober and a drunk guy who gave two TOTALLY different accounts to the the police and couldn’t even identify officer Callahan who he, by his own testimony was conversing with prior too and after the alleged incident whith no problems whatsoever. The only thing officer Callahan has “changed is in trying to figure out when this lush may have seen his revolver. He wasn’t sure simply because there was nothing made of it at the time in the restroom because there was NO “incident”.

  • 8 Anonymous // Aug 8, 2007 at 2:46 pm

    Sure there’s no incidnet. How many policeman go into bars withd guns. You try that sometimez.

  • 9 like it like dat // Aug 8, 2007 at 2:56 pm

    ROTFL well done bathroom humor.

  • 10 insider // Aug 8, 2007 at 3:10 pm

    Hey Anonymous alot of off duty cops carry a gun while in a bar. There’s no law against it. Only being drunk in a bar with a gun. But then you’re so smart you already knew that.

  • 11 insider // Aug 8, 2007 at 3:14 pm

    By the way, the “bar” in question is a resteraunt with a bar section.

  • 12 insider // Aug 8, 2007 at 3:23 pm

    Also “off-duty” means very little. If a police officer is “off-duty” and sees a crime being commited he is still required and expected to act. Hence many police officers carry when “off-duty”.

  • 13 Mr Greenpeace // Aug 8, 2007 at 3:25 pm

    the source was a press release by U S department of Homeland Security’s FEMA office on 8/2/2007 after 12 pm it was a from a clip service I share with people in the office I work in. I’m working on finding another source as well , a printable list if helps I will run down. The first list was from the same source within the office out of N.Y.N.Y.

    try FEMA US Fire Administration in Emmiitsburg Md 1 301 447 1000 ext 1055 is the place you may get a printout. The contact person may not be in this week someone can help you I’m sure.

    the other may be NFPA in Quincy 1 617 770 3000 they may be able to help either one may have it on thier site.

    As for an off duty officer drinking and carrying a weapon, its a rough call if your not a officer. I know in my family mowing the lawn one use to see a sidearm on my relatives and that was years ago and was accpetable. Its not uncommon for a enforcment officer to carry his service weapon I hate to sound as I’m defending anyones actions but it is a known fact officers are targets even if they are innocent..

    to The Truth yes you are correct agenda’s are obvious out here , then again we have some true fact finding postings that are tommorrow’s news so we take the good with the bad..I guess the regular armed robberies and the vicious car jacking that almost happened in that part of the city where they want a tank farm is acceptable,there was at least another gun taken off the street by a civilian, maybe a reward for his troubles?

    thank god for reporters from the papers to report this stuff otherwise we would only have atricles by Frampton and Breslow showing what awesome police officers we have and nothing to bitch about.Seems like no one has much to say about our good officers today I assume you all got cell phone tickets last week.

    its a rant but with some numbers I was disapointed with the Advocate today no Moose and Molly on the comics page today damm them!

    Mr Greenpeace

  • 14 Anonymous // Aug 8, 2007 at 3:35 pm

    I have heard almost all cops carry guns when they are not working. Especially if they live in the town where they work. Something about running into drug dealers and others that they have arrested. Drug dealers and murderers would never bother the cop when he is off duty with his family, right?

  • 15 Mr Greenpeace // Aug 8, 2007 at 3:40 pm

    sorry the first part of my rant was for posting #6

    for the rest while I was writing I agree you carry the weapon everywhere, I myself refuse to drive through Woodward, Ely, Lincoln ect unless i am protected , won’t let the wife go that way , I make her drive through SoNo to the schools and not cut through to that hamlet that dislikes trucks..

    Its not how you live its what you know about your surroundings that make a differance,,I.m sure getting your pants ripped off of you in the middle of the day could be a common thing where you live, or stopping at a interesection and getting almost carjacked is a strong possibility if it isn’t come to South Norwalk and live like the rest of us.

    You would go get a pistol permit as well, and buy a gun here on Water st one of the only legit gun dealers in the city or am I incorrect?

  • 16 turfgrrl // Aug 8, 2007 at 3:54 pm

    I think the operative situation here is drinking and carrying a gun and allowing someone who is likely drunk to see it in the bathroom. Take away any one of those and you don’t have an incident.

  • 17 anon // Aug 8, 2007 at 4:02 pm

    I know that a friend who was Stamford cop would not carry his gun off duty simple because it was too risky — could get stolen, be grabbed, etc. He did start to carry it, though, when his life was threteded by people who that that he was getting in the way of their “business” interests.

  • 18 Anonymous // Aug 8, 2007 at 4:16 pm

    Was he drinking or just in the restaurant?

  • 19 Mr Greenpeace // Aug 8, 2007 at 4:33 pm

    I read it as a bar where Serpico goes to bust coke dealers,,this place had food? I thought by reading the accounts it had the best price for drafts and the pool tables were cheap, clean glasses were optional but more money.The sink was the third urinal , one would wonder what kind of hole this is..tell me its a nice place to eat I’d be shocked reading this thread.

  • 20 Anonymous // Aug 8, 2007 at 4:38 pm

    It was in newtown. How bad can it be. Maybe it was a restored tavern that George Washington ate in.

  • 21 Anonymous // Aug 8, 2007 at 5:09 pm

    #7 insider: Although I don’t believe everything I read in the newspaper, the Hour today wrote that Callahan had 3 or 4 different accounts of what happened which he gave to the Newtown Police on 3 or 4 different occasions.

    If your such an insider you would probably admit that Officer Callahan has an alcohol problem along with other problems. Too many problems make it bad for Norwalk. He has become a big liability and should be gone along with Corda, Opdahl, Morris & Gunn.

    If the City’s personnel department was better at hiring people, we wouldn’t have such problems. We really should get rid of this department and outsource personnel to a company that thoroughly investigates potential employees, instead of hiring these otherwise unemployable sons and daughters of the politically connected which become a huge financial liability to the taxpayers and a migraine headache to our law department.

  • 22 John Velasquez // Aug 8, 2007 at 5:44 pm

    All I can say about Callahan

    If it looks like crap, smells like crap, and feels like crap, I don’t have to taste it to know it is crap.

  • 23 Mr Greenpeace // Aug 9, 2007 at 1:08 pm

    You can buy a gun on Water st, Noelle Framptom actaully wrote about it today, how ironic it was the day before I did ask if there was a place one could purchase one..shows sometimes this blog is tommorrows news.my posting #15 shows that to our news hounds.

    #7 I have to agree there are two sides we all find that out when being objective, and sometimes as in my mentioning of the grants there was three stories, as in other news there can be many stories many facts not all the same by sometimes the same paper, when one does post out here we all take the chance of being wrong.

    I rant all the time I have said in the past I get disapointed when the Advocate doesn’t have Moose and Molly truth is only the Hour has the comic strip,,it simply shows not all postings are taken seriously.Not all are corrrect.Its sometimes just someones take and at what they want to see,I trust this police officer thread will never go away long after the election.I trust there will always be another side we have not heard yet.

  • 24 the truth // Aug 9, 2007 at 1:25 pm

    Hey John Velasquez
    your comment shows your IQ
    I am shocked you knew how to spell Callahan
    see you soon

  • 25 anonymous // Aug 9, 2007 at 1:30 pm

    Think I am going to wait until the court case is finished before I decide what should be done. Jury of his peers and all that.

  • 26 Edward Levine // Aug 9, 2007 at 2:22 pm

    Post 24 wrote
    your comment shows your IQ
    I am shocked you knew how to spell Callahan

    Wanna see another piece of skull that I am going to make into a money clip?

    Maybe there are a few other body parts from other accident scenes. Wanna pull a finger?

    Sorry, I meant PULL A GUN.

    Sorry I meant POUR A DRINK.
    Sorry I meant POUR A DRINK.
    Sorry I meant POUR A DRINK.
    Sorry I meant POUR A DRINK.

  • 27 Joe Carlotti // Aug 9, 2007 at 2:28 pm

    They called John Gotti the Teflon Don.

    We have a legend in the making, “The Teflon Cop.”

    Sooner or later this officer is going to harm himself or someone else.

    You can take that to the bank.

  • 28 anonymous // Aug 9, 2007 at 2:33 pm

    Hate to are the city yet to fire him again and he gets found not guilty. Then he’ll hey more back pay for not doing anth work.

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