Lead supervisor of UConn Police SVU demoted amid harassment investigation 

An investigation conducted from February to July 2023 found the head officer of the UConn Police Special Victims Unit (SVU,) Sergeant Marc Hanna, in violation of the department’s standard operating procedure on seven different counts. “There are several policy violations that impact the effectiveness of Sergeant Hanna’s leadership within this organization,” the official findings read. 

The charges include a violation of attention to duty, failure to obey directions and multiple instances of workplace harassment. 

After union arbitration, Sergeant Hanna has been demoted to the rank of Detective, removed from the SVU, and may not apply for promotion within the next five years. 

Lieutenants Robert Allen and Jennifer Moskowitz of the UConn Police Department led the internal affairs investigation. They conducted a series of twenty-three separate fact-finding interviews.  

The investigation identified four individuals who have been inappropriately touched by Det. Hanna in the workplace, with instances of unwanted shoulder massages, kisses on the head, hugging and one incident involving an officer being restrained against the wall. 

One female police officer reported that despite consistent and vocal protest, “Sergeant Hanna had, on several occasions, put his arm around her, has given her hugs and had come up behind her and rubbed her shoulder,” the internal documents read. 

Regarding unwanted massages, one male officer testified, “Sgt. Hanna had to actually wedge himself between the back of (the officer’s) chair and a filing cabinet to be able to massage her shoulders…he could see that (the officer) was very uncomfortable with the situation,” the investigation reported. 

These incidents were not isolated, with Hanna’s troubling patterns of behavior negatively impacting co-workers and victims of the SVU. Per the official findings of the investigators, “Employees are forced to modify their behavior in order to avoid having Sergeant Hanna touch them or be alone in his presence. Other employees reportedly declined to apply for career development opportunities to avoid having to work for Sergeant Hanna.” 

The abuses were often perceived as threatening by those employed at the department, hampering their ability to continue working. One particularly aggressive act led to the eventual investigation of Hanna’s conduct over time. 

Cornering and grabbing a female officer with both hands, then-Sgt. Hanna “jacked me up against the wall” and expressed his anger regarding the subordinate officer not pursuing a temporary detective position, the investigation reported. The officer left her Feb. 4, 2024, shift early, unable to carry out her duties due to the shock of the experience. 

In official interviews, Det. Hanna detailed this incident as “light banter.” 

Subsequent to the interaction, Det. Hanna lied to his commanding officer, Captain Justin Gilbert, who directly ordered Hanna not to make contact with the victim. 

“Captain Gilbert told him [Hanna] that he wasn’t sure where the complaint was going to go and that they should just wait and see if the complaint died down,” the investigation said. Phone logs reveal Det. Hanna called the officer in an attempt to persuade her to revoke the complaint. 

Although the female officer did not exercise her right to legal recourse against Hanna, she requested he be transferred to a different UConn campus. Det. Hanna maintains his employment in Storrs. 

Det. Hanna justified his inappropriate advances as being playful or warranted in the circumstances at the time. 

In response to a situation where Hannah kissed one female and one male on the top of the head from behind, the Detective stated “that he sees them ‘like they’re kids,’” and that the interactions were “meant as a joke.” 

During the interviews, the female dispatcher expressed her anger with the conditions created by Det. Hanna’s presence.  

“It is already hard enough to be a young female in a workplace such as a police department and to be valued, so when [she’s] treated how Sergeant Hanna treats [her,] it is very frustrating,” the dispatcher said.  

The report goes on to outline instances of inappropriate comments and jokes primarily targeted at the department’s female staff. 

After overhearing one ‘joke’ of a sexual nature, one female officer “Recalled feeling humiliated but felt that this was the humor of most departments, so she just let it pass and didn’t complain about it at the time,” the investigation reported. 

Hanna has additionally been cited for a failure to uphold his professional duties and adequately meet the sensitive needs of his unit, which serves as the first line of response for victims of sexual crimes. 

SVU Officer James Voelker described Hanna as “condescending” towards victims in SVU cases, constantly being on his cell phone during interviews and being “disengaged.” 

Despite the serious allegations of misconduct against Det. Hanna, the university assures that the UConn Police are committed to serving the community and addressing wrongdoing both externally and internally. 

“UConn Police immediately launched an internal affairs investigation upon learning of concerns and complaints regarding the officer’s behavior,” said Deputy UConn Spokesperson Mike Enright. “The UConn Police Department and its Special Victims Unit care deeply about pursuing justice on behalf of survivors of sexual assault and handling their cases with the utmost diligence, care and sensitivity.”