I get calls almost daily regarding the slow progression of the Robles matter. After two full days of hearings already, the case has now been stalled until at least October 19th, the next scheduled hearing date, a delay of close to a month.
I would think if I was being accused of the type of charges against Robles, I would demand that my name be cleared as soon as possible and any delay would be unacceptable.
In the meantime, most of the calls I get are from people very upset when they see Officer Robles, in uniform, working his shifts. This undermines the trust people have in the Hartford Police and is unfortunate at a critical time when every ounce of that trust is needed to re-build relationships between the community and the Department.
At the rate these hearings are going, Robles will be ready to retire before the hearings are complete.
Maybe there is a DEAL to let him "retire" before the Chief renders a decison.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless the aforesaid statute regarding Perez in a prior post by you Kevin is also applicable to RObles, should he be arrested and either takes a plea or is convicted.So in a sense it is somewhat meaningless if the clock is run out as he will lose his pension in the end.
And it is fitting that he loses his pension...he disgraced his oath ot protect and serve when he filed fraudulent time cards and admitted it...and stole money by way of larceny from Hartford.
A public servant has to be found or plea guilty BEFORE they retire or the state can't revoke their pension.
ReplyDeleteAlready 2 hearings and a third a month later??? Something sneaky is going on.
Innocent,
ReplyDeleteuntil proven otherwise,
if the otherwise, sic the dogs. Only until otherwise.
American the great views on Brutus.
PS:
Esto es para ti Pedrito.....
Kevin, why do you care about this kangaroo court hearing so much. It is irrelevant and meaningless. If Robles does not prevail then it just goes to the fourth step (SBMA/Labor Board). If Robles does prevail then the chief can just over-rule/overturn the decision. Although that has only been done once in the History of the Hartford Police (see Roberts vs Foley). Besides, the hearing officer is pretty much told which way to rule. If the hearing officer doesn't rule the way upstairs wants him to, they are forever in career Siberia (Buyak). Either way, it is going to end up at SBMA. And that will take years to hash out.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the public's perception of what is happening is also important to police/community relations.
ReplyDeleteSo far this matter looks like a joke to the public. I understand that there are two sides to every story, but the initial memo and the IAD report seem to be pretty solid.
Most likely the States Attorney's Office will bring this to a resolution before the hearing officer does.
I completely understand your interest, but the internal hearings at HPD are a joke. Just a speed bump on the way to the SBMA. And he is still working a ton of road jobs... Just a thought- The chief could transfer Officer Robles to an internal job with administrative hours (8-4 m-f) to curb the road jobs.
ReplyDeleteMr or Ms Anonymous 7:05 PM
ReplyDeleteNo...if they are found guilty for acts that occured before they retired then the AG can go after their pension.In this case Roble's acts are certainly before his retirement and if found guilty or if he pleads out...his pension is gone.
And that is a big part of the frustration from the people I receive calls from. It is amazing how many people call and complain because they have seen him in car 1 or car 5 recently or drive by him doing a road job. I never thought people paid that much attention, but they do. I know many people inside HPD who are also upset by this, at just about every rank.
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right about re-assigning him. Do you really think any arrest he makes will stand up under a good defense attorney. I can see it now in a courtroom, "Officer Robles, are you the same officer under investigation for larceny and falsifying documents? And we are supposed to believe your version of my clients arrest?"... case dismissed. The other scenario is how long before a claim of disability for some sort of back injury between now and October 19, 2010 is made? That will surely deflate any attempt to revoke his pension if it were to become a disability payment instead.
The public notices all of this and it lowers the image of the good people at HPD everyday.
Kevin, from what I hear Robles has a lot of dirt on key people so the PD is reluctant to move forward with his discipline.
ReplyDeleteThe PD is stalling his case for as long as possible hoping the state comes in with an arrest warrant to help discredit what Robles might start sharing once he's terminated.
This is also why they are afraid to yank him off the streets like they normally do to everyone else who ends up under investigation for criminal misconduct.
Innocent,
ReplyDeleteuntil proven otherwise...
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Yes. In criminal proceedings. But, for example, nobody doubts Nixon and Klinton committed crimes even though they were never tried or convicted. We don't have to close our eyes to the truth until validated by a court of law. Robles should be fired immediately upon his employer's finding (not necessarily beyond a shadow of a doubt) that he committed fraud. That that can't happen is a function, it would appear, of state laws requiring that our municipalities bend over for union employees. Must be a pretty complicated set of rules,too; the 2010 manual costs $450 (plus tax).
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Municipal Employee Relations Act (MERA) Manual
CCM's comprehensive guide to the decisions of the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations (SBLR), the Connecticut State Board of Mediation and Arbitration (SBMA), and the courts concerning municipal employee labor relations.
(http://www.ccm-ct.org/pubs/mera-manual.html)
He's a cheating, crooked cop. Fire him,
ReplyDelete