Officials: Bedard Investigation Ongoing for Months

Police and town officials said the investigation of a police commissioner's son has been ongoing for three months now, despite the recent execution of a search warrant.

The first began investigating Christian Bedard — son of police commissioner Elaine Bedard, who was recently appointed chairwoman of the local Democratic Town Committee — in early January and applied for a search warrant at that time, police department and town hall officials confirmed Tuesday. A Bristol Superior Court judge did not approve the request until March 21.

Detectives executed the warrant last week after the request was finally approved, searching the Bedard’s Hunting Hill Drive home just two days after Elaine Bedard was appointed to the position of party chairwoman.

“The timing of the warrant was pure coincidence. Detectives applied for the search warrant in January, but it wasn’t approved until the day that the warrant was served,” a town official with knowledge of the investigation said Tuesday.

Police , exiting with several boxes of evidence that included Christian Bedard’s laptop computer. Police officials confirmed Tuesday that Bedard was working on a book that was also seized as part of the investigation.

Messages left with Christian Bedard late last week and again on Monday and Tuesday were not returned. Police have declined further comment as the investigation is still considered active.

“Department policy is not to discuss open investigations and right now there is nothing further to report in the case,” Sgt. Lowell DePalma, the Southington Police Department spokesman, said.

State laws protect a search warrant from being released to the public for 14 days, or 10 business days, after it is approved, according to staff with the criminal clerk’s office at Bristol Superior Court. After that period, it could be released to the public at the discretion of a judge.

Elaine Bedard has served for several years as a member of the Southington Board of Police Commissioners. The day-to-day operations of the department fall under Chief John F. Daly, but as a member of the police commission, Elaine Bedard has the authority to make personnel-related decisions within the department.

Although Elaine Bedard is a member of the commission, the investigation remains under the purview of the Southington Police Department, according to Bristol Supervisory State’s Attorney Kevin Murphy. The state’s attorney does not get involved with the investigation until an arrest is made, he said.

Murphy and his staff declined further comment, saying it is against policy to discuss an active case.

Christian Bedard, 36, has a criminal history dating back to nearly a decade ago. He was convicted on two separate counts of driving under the influence, interfering with an officer and second-degree breach of peace between 2002 and 2007, according to court records.

He was sentenced in February 2011 to two years in prison after entering a guilty plea to one charge of third-degree burglary but was released later in the year on good behavior, court records showed.