Let me start this post off by saying I know Frank Rudewicz and I have known him for many years. Rudewicz is a retired Hartford Police officer. Rudewicz and his firm were apparently hired today by Mayor Pedro Segarra to investigate the problems at HPD. I don't have any doubt that Rudewicz is qualified and has a good track record, but the appearance stinks.
Why don't we just save the money and ask Chief Roberts and his command staff to investigate themselves, that would appear almost as legit to the public as a retired HPD officer investigating his former co-workers. We have seen how forthcoming Chief McKoy is when he has accidents with city vehicles so I'm sure we could count on him to get to the truth.
We also know that we could count on Assistant Chief Horvath to properly conduct the sensitive interviews without opening the City and its taxpayers to any liability. Assistant Chief Heavren could be asked to catalog and record all of the evidence collected, hopefully he won't have the same "loss of memory" that occurred with the photos from the lederhosen incident.
And so that everyone has a role and feels wanted in the Chief's complex, maybe the Deputy Chiefs could be called on to handle any video evidence.
And just in case anything goes wrong or the investigation takes a bad turn, blame it on Lieutenant Brooks, he already has lawyers on retainer so that shouldn't be a problem. Well, there is one problem, since Lt. Brooks answered directly to Chief Roberts, it might be hard to insulate the Chief from any responsibility like "failure to supervise".
This decision makes no sense and really makes me question the decision making of Mayor Segarra. This is a critical decision that needs to show the public that they can trust their police department and the truth will eventually come through. This should have truly been an "independent" entity that has no allegiance to anyone and will follow the evidence where ever it goes.
Anything short of criminal charges being lodged against the individuals involved will smack of a whitewash. This decision just makes the "Blue wall of silence" appear even stronger to those people outside the police department, i.e. also known as the general public.
The Mayor should know better and from the phone calls I am receiving from several members of the public and HPD officers as well, they agree the appointment of someone with ties to HPD already smacks of a coverup. I am in no way casting any doubt on Rudewicz, but Segarra has automatically done that by his selection.
And while I'm questioning Mayor Segarra's decision making, I would like to ask him if he thinks it is appropriate to be meeting privately with someone fired from HPD and subsequently arrested by the States Attorney. It seems that Segarra had a "private" session with former HPD Officer Hector Robles at a Main Street breakfast joint yesterday. At the very least it should be raising some issues as to what was discussed, what potential deals might be getting cut in a tough election year by a police officer under arrest and a Mayor scrambling for votes.
It just seems crazy to open the doors to criticism by poor decision making.
But then again, this is the hometown of Mark Twain who through his boy Tom Sawyer made the "whitewash" famous in his writings. Maybe the final report can be released from the steps of the Twain House. The only question is whether the public sees it as a work of fact or fiction
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11 comments:
Kevin: Although I would have preferred an outside agency such as the NY State Police, I do think that Frank Rudewicz can do the job. He has been gone from HPD long enough. On the other hand, whatever the result, there will always be room for an allegation one way or the other.
How much is the private investigator being paid? Did Segarra follow the city's procurement thresholds in contracting with him? Refer to the city's finance website:
http://purchasing.hartford.gov/webfiles/DoingBusiness.aspx#Thresholds
Segarra has aligned himself with an array of criminals,corrupt and incompetant's for his election, so having breakfast with Hector Robles falls right into place.
TYPICAL Hartford politics! I had more faith in Pedro than this. Whether you think Frank can do the job or not, he and Daryl are familiar with each other and it will not suppress any thoughts of a coverup by having him conducting the investigation. It stinks to high heaven. I'm willing to bet evidence gets lost and many of the allegations will come back "unfounded". Why is Pedro (of all people)trying to protect Daryl who loves to make homophobic comments/jokes/slurs??? Speaks volumes to how he sticks up for people like himself(gay). Pedro needs to grow a backbone and get a "real" independent investigator(s) so all the facts can really be put on the table for ALL to see.
Pedro is trying to hold on to the Mayor's seat anyway he can think of!
He recently met with Hector (under investigation, fired from the Police dept] Robles.
To try and get his influence into the Latino vote in the sixth district.
As if he has any influence left!
This shows how desperate Pedro is to retain his seat.
Why is the Mayor meeting with Hector at all?
Hector admitted to taking, from double billing, over TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THE CITY TAX PAYERS.
AND IS NOW TRYING TO DRAG IT OUT IN COURT AS LONG AS HE CAN.
Transparency is all Pedro talks about.
I and many others can not wait until his next TOWN HALL MEETING for him to explain this one!
It is time for the all of the 2007 Elected Municipal group to GO!!
In regards to the Robles/Segarra meeting, much more has come to my attention in the last 24 hours, both regarding the Mayor's requests to Robles to deliver votes and Robles demands of Segarra to make it happen.
The details of this should all be posted here hopefully tonight or tomorrow
This smells of cover up. I'm not a cynical person, but this just looks ridiculous. Even if Rudewicz doesn't prove to be corrupt in this investigation it just makes this whole situation more sketchy. I'm starting to think Segarra is just as much in bed with the wrong people at HPD as Perez was. Segarra isn't an idiot, like anyone else would know that an outside investigation should be performed by an agency with no ties to the HPD. It seems there would be no reason to choose a former HPD officer other than the possibility of everyone involved including Segarra & Rudewicz are corrupt and of course we already know the majority of the command staff at HPD is. It just plain stinks.
I wonder if HPD is expecting to lose a lot of officers over the next year? Segarra said not long ago, but before everything hit the fan, that the next academy class will be in 2012. Apparently now they are starting one up and are looking to begin in June. What changed?
I have a similar opinion as Mr. Brookman, and apparently many others, in regards to having a former Hartford Police Officer conducting an investigation of the Hartford Police Department. This will surely lead to an air of impropriety, regardless of the outcome. I also share with Mr. Brookman his opinion that this appearance should not reflect negatively towards Mr. Rudewicz and/or his company.
Having been a Police Officer in Hartford for the past 17 years I have never seen the rumors and innuendo running as wild as they have been for the last several weeks, most notably here on this blog.
Only time will tell whether the rumors have any merit, either way, hopefully someone will be held accountable.
I have posted my name, despite numerous warnings not to do so, not out of defiance, but merely to allow those responsible to realize that their actions do affect others.
These others, the first line officers (and supervisor’s) who are tasked with going out into the community and facing questions in regards to the going ons of the second floor. Most of these officers have no information, other than what is printed in this blog, rumors, etc… These same officers wish to do nothing more than go out on a daily basis and provide a service to the community, a community in which they took an oath to serve.
In the past 17 years I have worked with, and for, several people who have earned my respect, not only by their words, but their actions as well. I have also worked with several people who will never have my respect, again, not only by their actions, but also their words.
Their was a time when I was extremely proud to tell people that I was employed by the City of Hartford, as a Police Officer, I can only hope those days will return.
Martin Miller,
Thanks for posting under your real name. I think the reason that so much information (I am reluctant to call it gossip and innuendo because much of it is actually backed up by documents provided to me, much of which I haven't even begun to post yet) has been coming out the last few weeks is because there is now a way for officers as well as others, to get information out. This is not a new problem and from what I am being told, morale appears to be at an all time low.
The varying degrees of discipline depending on which "team" you are loyal to is a big problem. The judgement, or lack thereof, shown by Assistant Chief McKoy makes him, in my opinion, unfit to serve in a leadership position. The "Code 3 Haircut" comments have now been verified, even though HPD refuses to release the documents detailing it. The incidents of harassment of female employees should have already resulted in his termination if Mayor Segarra does really have a zero tolerance policy for workplace harassment. And if it was Chief McKoy's decision to withhold the Pawtucket Street shooting video, as I am being told it was, from the Firearms Review Board, it definitely is not the "transparency" we keep hearing the Mayor speak about.
It stinks of a coverup and it is another reason Chief McKoy is unfit to lead anything at HPD. Whether Frank Rudewicz will dig into that is still up in the air I guess.
In the meantime, if Rudewicz worked with Chief Roberts, Chief Heavren, Chief Horvath and others, he is hardly "independent".
In the meantime, there is a lot more information coming out everyday and only once all of this is exposed and corrected will those days of pride by the men and women of HPD be strong again.
A key part of that respect and pride though is based on the public's perception of whether they can trust their police department or not. This decision to bring in a former HPD officer to investigate his former friends and co-workers most likely will not instill a lot of confidence in the outcome of the report, even if he does an outstanding job, and the Mayor and the Chief know that I'm sure.
Kevin, this is Frank Rudewicz. While I appreciate that individuals have their own opinions on the upcoming review of HPD, I will be ensuring the integrity of the process by seeking all relevant information from any sources.
In that regard, I have set up a confidential email address at HPDIADinquiry@gmail.com. I request that all relevant information be forwarded to me, either anonymously or otherwise.
This email will only be opened by me or my assistant, Kati Allison in Boston. Content will be shared with my investigative team as required. I will respond to all emails.
Some people are legends in their own minds some made Sgt I have no idea how.
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