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In a one-sentence May 21t letter, Commissioner James Rovella of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection demoted Lieutenant Colonel John S. Eckersley from his position in the top command of the Connecticut State Police. Eckersley returned to his previous rank as a captain.

The shakeup in the highest ranks of the force was unaccompanied by a public announcement. Eckersley and two others were promoted in a 2019 ceremony that was announced to the public. Eckersley’s devotion to duty was highlighted in a Courant story last August when the he came to the aid of a distressed woman running on I-95 in Old Lyme.

Eckersley was included in a 2020 union vote of no confidence in the leadership of Rovella and Governor Ned Lamont. Eckersley is known for enforcing codes of appearance and conduct that sometimes slip among the troops.

Democratic leaders of the House and Senate have filed a resolution convene a special session of the legislature to allocate billions in federal funds that will flow into Connecticut state government coffers. The special session may convene as soon as 12:01 a.m. Thursday, though it is expected to begin its formal deliberations later in June.

The special session will also provide an opportunity to address what state policymakers will do when the pandemic-related funds run out.

Jimmy Kimmel may be reading Daily Ructions now and then.

And those Tweets? They’re real.

Governor Ned Lamont’s administration has promoted 11 white male State Police lieutenants to captains in a Thursday ceremony. In an unusual move, the promotions include all 11 who took the promotion exam.

The upper ranks of the State Police are filled entirely with White males. Lamont appointed James Rovella, also a white male, to serve as commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which includes the State Police.

Brian Foley, an assistant to Rovella, said Thursday that years of failing to recruit diverse trooper classes have resulted in the diversity deficit. The Lamont administration has failed to challenge contract provisions that give the state’s highest elected official little authority over the police.

Lamont declared a year ago, “I want a police force, I want a state police force, I want administration, I want judges, I want district attorneys to represent the amazing diversity of our state.” His words have not been matched by results.

The House of Representatives is wrestling with excessive drinking among legislators while the chamber is in session. Capitol police officers and staff members are dismayed. Speaker of the House Matthew Ritter has admonished his caucus over several incidents.

One legislator fell in a parking garage stairwell while walking from the garage roof where members were drinking to the causeway between the garage and the Legislative Office Building, where some legislators leave their laptop computers that are programmed to allow them to cast a roll call vote from a distance.

On Thursday, State Representative Robin Comey, a second term Democrat and Assistant Majority Leader, was incomprehensible when she attempted to speak on an amendment pending before the House. Comey’s condition caused concern on the floor. Representative William Petit (R-Plainville), doctor, hurried to Comey’s side. Aides provided water. A police officer arrived with medical equipment. Petit returned to his seat. Comey was escorted off the House floor. She returned to the Capitol Tuesday.

Officers have taken car keys from legislators who appear to be intoxicated.

Ritter may be able to address the immediate embarrassment by declaring the 4th floor of the LOB, where much over-serving is said to occur, an alcohol-free zone.

Gunshots were fired overnight Monday/Tuesday at the State Capitol. The bullets are said to have stuck windows and are thought to have been fired from outside the building.

Heavily armed police officers were posted at the Capitol Tuesday morning as legislators retuned after the holiday weekend. The regular session of the legislature concludes on June 9th.

Additional details as they become available.

The Courant has more.

Unless you are able to get to the roof of the legislature’s parking garage or a former speaker who works for a lobbying firm, you, a member of the public, are not able to enter the Capitol complex. Our constitutional right to petition the government continues to be severely constrained as the legislature carries on in voluntary isolation.

The Connecticut Retail Merchants Association is out with a radio ad opposing the imposition of a digital tax on small businesses. The pandemic has been especially hard on the state’s retail merchants. It seems reasonable to ask state government not to add another obstacle to their recovery.

Former state Representative Themis Klarides announced Wednesday she is exploring a bid for the 2022 Republican nomination for governor. Some wag anticipated this moment and reserved ThemisKlarides.com. It leads to the page of the frontrunner in the 2022 race.

House members have been leaving their laptops unattended on the walkway between the Legislative Office Building and its parking garage while they have their version of a tailgate party on the roof of the garage. The legislators appear to have found the farthest place in the Capitol complex from where they may cast roll call votes.

When a vote is called the legislators recess their rooftop gathering, walk to the second floor of the garage, and head for their row of laptops on the walkway.

The public continues to be banned from the Capitol complex.

The militarization of the police continues. A group of legislators has proposed an amendment to skirt last year’s ban on municipal police departments acquiring controlled vehicles, highly mobile multi-wheeled vehicles, and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles. The ban was enacted as an element of 2020’s police reform bill.

The militarization of local police departments has caused unease along a wide swath of the political spectrum. A bipartisan coalition of ten (10) legislators is proposing an exception. The group of Senate and House members would allow West Haven to purchase Farmington’s mine-resistant, ambushed protected vehicle by January 1, 2022.