Public Safety
Kenneth E. Bateman Kenneth Bateman Barbara Bateman

Police Department to Mark 40th Anniversary of Officer Kenneth E. Bateman’s Death in the Line of Duty

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On Memorial Day and the night before, Darien Police Department will hold a ceremony marking the death of a man in uniform, Darien Officer Kenneth E. Bateman Jr., shot and killed when he went to the scene of a burglary. “To solemnly remember the 40th anniversary of Officer Bateman’s death, the Darien Police Department will post and illuminate 40 candles in front of the Darien Police Department building commencing at sunset on Sunday, May 30, 2021,” Police Chief Donald Anderson said in a statement released Monday morning. “The candles will burn throughout the night into May 31, 2021 in honor of Officer Bateman and will be extinguished at noon on Memorial Day, when both the Connecticut and United States flags are again returned to full staff per the United States Flag Code and by Presidential proclamation.” Bateman was killed by one of the burglars robbing Duchess, Anderson said. “Although this heinous crime remains unsolved, many Darien officers and investigators, now over several generations, have diligently continued and furthered the investigation into his murder.

Public Safety
Anthony Sabato

Drug Conviction Gets Person of Interest in Bateman Cop Killing a 13-Year Sentence

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Anthony Sabato, named a “person of interest” in the 1981 killing of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years and nine months in prison on unrelated drug-selling charges. The sentencing judge in U.S. District Court in Hartford also found that Sabato, 57, had “supplied the firearm that was used in the murder of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman in May 31, 1981,” according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut. Sabato, a West Haven resident, was arrested on March 24 on an accusation he sold  two ounces of crack cocaine to an undercover police officer for $4,000. He’s been in jail since then, and pleaded guilty on July 6 to one count of “conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In a long criminal career, Sabato has been convicted of 35 crimes since 1975.