Contract negotiations possibly make some Stamford police officers 'sick'

Is it a sickout or a major coincidence? Stamford is abuzz with allegations police officers organized a sickout, but the police union denies the claims.The police union says it is just a coincidence almost 20 officers called out sick or injured in the last three days. However, some people?s eyebrows are raised after seeing sick call numbers released by the city Friday. All of the officers that called out sick were scheduled for the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. patrol shift. On Tuesday night, all 16 of the officers scheduled for patrol called out, saying they were sick or injured. On Wednesday night 11 out of 14 scheduled officers called out. Thursday night, 11 of 15 called in sick.According to the police department, it has kept the required minimum of 18 officers on duty by using overtime. The city claims the union is using the sick claims as a tool in strained contract negotiations.