As the election season heats up, it seems as though the Hartford Police Union is not ready to endorse any Mayoral candidate.It might be even worse for at least one candidate.
Hartford Police Union members have contacted me advising me that several members of the union are pushing for a vote of no confidence in both Chief Daryl Roberts and Mayor Pedro Segarra. The "no confidence" apparently results from the lack of manpower, low morale and lack of a contract with the City for over a year.
Recent cuts to the new HPD academy class will result in even lower numbers of sworn officers available. Last years graduating class brought the level of sworn officers to 460. Through attrition, officers leaving for other agencies as well as terminations now has the current level of sworn personnel at about 428, a number that will go even lower before the current class is available for deployment.
Those numbers come at the same time that Hartford's homicide rate is taking a steady rise and gun violence is increasing.
I understand that the Council President told a falsehood to Hyancinth Yennie at the council meeting when she was asked about the two recruits being cut from the current police academy class. R JO told her there were no cuts to the class. So either the Mayors math is wrong or hers, when he said he was putting a class of 30 in at the end of June. The actual number is 24 Hartford, now 23, recruits and 4 from other towns. So how does 24 equal 30. It doesn't. Great leadership.n
ReplyDeleteThe facts are that there arent enough cops on the streets...blame doesnt matter to me as there appears to be plenty to pass around. Suffice it to say Hartford isnt being protected as it should and folks are scared to move here.The Mayor and Council are too blame for the escalating crime and the diminished police force.
ReplyDeleteIn general, aside from you aficionados, we citizens have little capacity to evaluate the police department, its job performance, or its internal management. But, whether vote or not, it seems to me obvious, largely by virtue of my paying attention to this blog, that the situation in HPD should be the focus of political debate by candidates, policy consideration by council, and administrative adjustments by our Strong Mayor.
ReplyDeleteCan't buy notion that our present (or past) pols are "to blame" for crime.
HURRY UP WITH THE VOTE ALREADY! WE'RE BEING LEAD BY A SELF-SERVING, BUFFOON!
ReplyDeleteThe union should back Vargas he knows all about unions he was the president of the teachers union for a while
ReplyDeleteI bet the no confidence vote of the Mayor should really help speed those contract negotiations along!
ReplyDeleteIf it helps him lose the election in a few months then yes it might speed those contract negotiations up nicely.
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