Stratford Police Dept. v. Board of Firearms Permit Examiners

Citations

• 343 Conn. 62

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 29-28 (b)), certain officials or authorities may issue a state pistol permit to an applicant if the official or authority determines that such applicant is ''a suitable person to receive such permit,'' and ''[n]o . . . permit . . . shall be issued'' if the applicant ''(2) has been convicted of (A) a felony, or (B) on or after October 1, 1994, a violation of section 21a-279 or section 53a-58, 53a-61, 53a-61a, 53a-62, 53a-63, 53a- 96, 53a-175, 53a-176, 53a-178 or 53a-181d [of the General Statutes] . . . .'' The defendant L, who had submitted a state pistol permit application with the plaintiff, the Stratford Police Department, appealed from the judgment of the trial court, which reversed the decision of the named defendant, the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners, to order the issuance of such permit. The police department initially denied L's application on the basis of his prior conviction in New York of criminal possession of a controlled substance, namely, ketamine. The police department con- cluded that L's conviction for possession of ketamine in New York was equivalent to a conviction for possession of a controlled substance under a Connecticut statute (§ 21a-279 (c)), and, because § 29-28 (b) (2) (B) lists § 21a-279 as a crime that automatically disqualifies an applicant from receiving a pistol permit if the applicant had been convicted there- under, L was automatically disqualified from receiving a permit under § 29-28 (b). L then appealed to the board from the police department's denial of the permit. During an administrative hearing before the board, the police department changed its position and asserted that, although not a per se bar, L's New York conviction rendered him unsuitable to receive the permit under § 29-28 (b). During the hearing, the board questioned L regarding his suitability, focusing on the circumstances surrounding L's prior arrest and conviction in New York, L's history of ketamine use, and L's use of other drugs a