Crime & Safety

[Updated] West Hartford's Chief Gove Nabs Another Suspect

Gove, who apprehended a larceny suspect two weeks ago, pulls over a DUI suspect on July 26.

By Cassandra Day and Ted Glanzer

West Hartford Chief of Police Tracey Gove did it again.

Just several weeks after assisting in arresting a larceny suspect on Kane Street, Gove helped nab a DUI suspect near Middletown on July 26.

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At 1:58 p.m. on Friday, Gove, who was on duty returning from a meeting in New London, called dispatch about Ross R. Katten, 25, of Willow Ave., Middletown, driving a Dodge Neon erratically on Route 9 northbound, according to the report.

The chief, who had been following Katten's car since he came upon it in Haddam, told officers he was so concerned about the safety of other he stopped Katten immediately. 

The report says Katten was lethargic and admitted to taking the opioid dependence drug Suboxone film 45 minutes beforehand and was on his way to the doctor to get more. 

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When Katten was asked to exit the car, the report says, he stumbled out and nearly fell in the road, then slurred his speech while telling officers they needed a search warrant. A search revealed a plastic bag in the car with 7.4 grams of marijuana and a prescription bottle with cocaine inside and a straw. He failed sobriety tests, police say, and was given a urine test.

During booking, the report says, Katten told officers he was going to fight the DUI charged but didn't care about being arrested for narcotics. Despite being in the same bag, Katten said only the marijuana was his, not the cocaine. He has been convicted of possession of narcotics, the report says, from 2008 and was recently arrested for DUI and another DUI conviction from 2007.

Katten was arrested for driving under the influence, use of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substances, and possession of less than a half-ounce of marijuana.

In a telephone interview Thursday morning, Gove was more embarrassed with the attention than anything.

"Police officers all across the country do this kind of thing every day," Gove said. "I think when I was a younger officer, I would attribute to skill in training but in this case, it’s just being in the right place at the right time."

If anything, Gove said, it shows how far removed he is from "traditional" policing.

He added, however, that regardless of the role - whether it's as chief, captain or a patrol officer, "the desire to go out there and catch perpetrators and menaces to society never subsides. ... That’s what drives you to the job: catching criminals and keeping society safe."

And while he may be a bit sheepish about the attention he has received, Gove said that he did get a bit of a rush from pulling over a suspect.

"It does feel good; it’s energizing," Gove said. "Sadly there are other tasks and duties that require my attention first. ... But it does show how dangerous the job can be. This is a great reminder of that. It does drive home what [many patrol officers] see on a day-to-day basis."

Correction: A previous version of the story stated that Gove was off duty. He was on-duty driving an unmarked police car.





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