Sergeant Russ Iger has served with the Coventry Police Department since December 2012. Currently, he is assigned as a Department training officer, a patrol supervisor, and the coordinator of the Officer Wellness Committee. His duties include monitoring officer response to crimes of family violence including the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), and U-Visa certification for non-immigrant crime victims. He has also taken on the role of drafting policies and revising department directives including Family Violence, Juvenile Operations, Use of Less Lethal Force, Line of Duty Death, and Peer Support Operations.
In addition to being a POSTC certified instructor in areas such as Constitutional Law, Connecticut Criminal Law, Immigration Law, Laws of Arrest, Search and Seizure, Use of Force, and Suicide Recognition, he is a licensed attorney admitted to the State Bars of New York and Connecticut, and the Federal Bars of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and District of Connecticut.
Previously, his duties included acting as a Field Training Officer (FTO), Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) coordinator, a member of a regional Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team, and Vice President of the Police Union. As coordinator of the Officer Wellness Committee, he instituted the use of annual wellness checks for officers and dispatchers, provided access to mindfulness and yoga training for staff and their spouses, and developed the Department’s Peer Support Program.
Sgt. Iger has presented statewide for the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, and is a recipient of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association “Serve Well, Be Well” Award. He also serves as a board member of the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement (C.A.B.L.E.), and the Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board (CTSAB). He is a 2023 FBI-LEEDA Trilogy Graduate, and attended the Connecticut Department of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Search and Seizure School 2023.
He is a 2002 graduate of the St. Johns University School of Law, where he acted as the Executive Notes & Comments Editor of the New York International Law Review, and he holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut in Philosophy and Asian Studies.
Sergeant Iger is part of the Spector Criminal Justice Training Network’s Legal Team. His knowledge of the law through the lens of an attorney together with his practical experience as a law enforcement officer offers a unique perspective. He regularly teaches legal topics for police officers throughout the State.