Statement from Senator Witkos on Handling of 2nd Congressional District Candidate Allegations

Hartford, CT – State Senator Kevin Witkos (R-Canton) has released the following statement regarding the 2^nd Congressional District GOP candidate and state party leadership:

“Over the past week, I’ve begun to hear more and more about allegations of domestic violence and the subsequent arrest of a candidate for the 2^nd Congressional District, along with allegations that state Republican party leadership was aware of the incident and did not report it to the proper authorities.

First and foremost, domestic violence is never acceptable, nor should it ever be overlooked, brushed under the carpet, or discounted in any way.  My thoughts go out to the victim in this situation and I am hopeful that this person can access any resources and support they may need.

I am deeply disturbed by reports that state party leadership did anything but immediately report this information to law enforcement.  You cannot build barriers to illegal activity and then claim plausible deniability.  As a retired police sergeant and someone who has made numerous domestic violence arrests, I can say unequivocally that these situations need to be investigated immediately and that proper notification to law enforcement is essential.  It should not be up to anyone else to decide whether the situation should be investigated further.

The more I learn about this entire incident the more unsettled and troubled I become.  The fact that Chairman Romano knew of these allegations, but took no further action leads me to join calls for his resignation as Chairman of the Connecticut state Republican party.”

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