# Connecticut Officer Doubles As Defense Lawyer



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*HILDA MUNOZ*
_The Hartford Courant _










Jul. 10--NEW BRITAIN -- As a New Britain police officer, Kyle Macci handcuffs suspected criminals. As an attorney, he hopes to set suspects free - or at least negotiate a good plea bargain for them.

Macci was sworn in June 16 as an attorney at the Supreme Court in Hartford. The New Britain patrolman plans on chasing down criminals four days of the week and making legal arguments on their behalf in court on his days off.

"It's my belief that there are good people out there that make mistakes and require competent representation," said Macci.

Macci also said he wants to represent police officers accused of misconduct. He also plans to practice immigration and personal injury law. Because he works full time as a police officer - 40 hours in four days - he doesn't need extra income from legal cases, so he can pick and choose his clients.

"I'm not going to choose a case I don't believe in," he said. To avoid a conflict of interest, Macci said, he will not represent anyone with ties to New Britain.

Police Chief William L. Gagliardi said that he, too, has plans for Macci's legal expertise. The officer can help train other officers on constitutional law and laws related to arrests or help explain Supreme Court decisions that might affect the department.

"That is a tremendous resource to the police department to have an attorney on board," Gagliardi said.

"It's a wonderful thing to have police officers who better their educational levels. It gives them a unique perspective," he said.

Macci's mother, Ingeborg Macci, said she is proud of her son, although she has been surprised by his career choices. As a boy he showed entrepreneurial flair, peddling pencils and stickers at school and renting gloves to his classmates. He even put together a catalog of his wares.

"I never really cared about being a police officer. It was something that just happened. I always wanted to be a stockbroker," Macci said.

Macci, the son of a retired U.S. Army colonel, joined the Army Reserve after graduating from Bristol Central High School. He has a degree in sociology with a concentration on finance from Central Connecticut State University. Then a friend brought him a job application for the New Britain Police Department.

Macci has worked at the department for 11 years. He said he enjoys that every day is different.

"It's an amazing job, being a police officer, because you have an effect on people's lives."

He was a police sniper on the SWAT team, was in a community-oriented policing program and was part of an accident-reconstruction team.

Through law school he developed a more intricate understanding of the law..

"I thought it was a fascinating profession. Your success depends on ... how well you're able to deliver legal arguments, how well you can think on your feet," he said.

He took three classes a semester from 2001 until graduating in 2005 from Western New England College in Springfield. He would get off work at 3 p.m. and drive an hour and 20 minutes to school three or four times a week.

He isn't the first New Britain police officer to become an attorney. Officer Joseph SantaMaria passed the bar in 2002 and works part time for a local law firm.

Former New Britain police Officer Martin Rizzi became an attorney in 1984. He stayed with the department for a year and half after passing the bar before leaving to open his own practice.

Rizzi, whose office is in New Britain, said he has some advice for Macci.

"Tell him the smartest thing he can do is stay a police officer. 'Get your pension!' I would say," said Rizzi.

Contact Hilda Munoz at [email protected].

Copyright (c) 2006, The Hartford Courant, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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