Meet Allen Ganter, a cop and student resource officer in Meriden, Connecticut. There’s just one problem: Ganter loves punching people.


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Now, I suppose we can’t say that he “loves” punching people. Who are we to determine what’s in a man’s heart? What we *can* say is that he was caught doing it while off-duty (and later seemed to deny it, even though there was a video of the event).



In this video, a man named Thomas Brocuglio can be seen in his vehicle seated next to his dog. Brocuglio appears to be “just vibing,” as the kids put it. As any good truck driver would do, Brocuglio honks to encourage the car in front of him to turn. This prompts Ganter, the man in the car in front of him, to get out of his vehicle and flash his badge.


The two proceed to argue, with Brocuglio accusing Ganter of being on his phone and Ganter blubbering through a variety of threats and excuses. Eventually, Brocuglio asks for Ganter’s badge number, and Brocuglio’s dog begins to bark. It’s unclear what part provoked what happened next, but at this point, Ganter punches the driver in the face.


“Fucking asshole,” Ganter says. “Who do you think you are fucking with? Do you want to get arrested?”


“You’re going to get arrested for assaulting a civilian!” Brocuglio retorts.


Local police later met Ganter at his residence, where he was asked about the incident. The interaction is hilarious in its level of denial, as recounted by some fantastic local reporting from Fox 61. “‘Is he pressing charges against me like for breach because I yelled at him and stuff?’ asked Ganter to the Rocky Hill officer. ‘For assault because you hit him,’ replied the Rocky Hill Officer. ‘He’s saying that I hit him?’ asked Ganter. ‘Yeah. And he has video that you hit him,’ explained the Rocky Hill officer.”


Fox 61 says that Ganter was later “charged with breach of peace and 3rd degree assault,” and that he was “suspended for five days without pay and will be required to attend de-escalation training for three consecutive years.” I know, certainly enough punishment to never have him do it again!


Like I said, Fox 61 did some great reporting here, but I wanted to go further. If this guy’s punching randos in their cars, this can’t be the first time he’s done this — no matter how many times he insists it was simply “one of those…moments of just plain stupidity.”


That’s when I came across a formal complaint against the Meriden Police Department posted by local outlet The Record-Journal in 2011. According to the complaint filed by Meriden police officers Donald Huston and Brian Sullivan, Allen Ganter “was observed by Sergeant Caponigro pushing a handcuffed prisoner.” Caponigro later accused Ganter of having “a problem controlling his temper.” You think?


Despite this, Ganter was given the position of corporal thanks to his “fifteen or more years of commendable service with the Meriden Police Department,” per an Instagram post from the Police Department.



He’s also still working as a school resource officer. Let’s just hope he’s not coldcocking the kids!