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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

NO CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Word is that the much awaited "Rudewicz Report" may be in the hands of Mayor Segarra by the end of the week. The reports author, Frank Rudewicz, may be suffering from a case of writers cramp though since he also released his independent investigation into the Windsor Locks Police Department and their handling of the fatal accident involving an off-duty Windsor Locks Police Officer.

From what sources are telling me, the same type of problems that were detailed in the Windsor Locks report may also be affecting the Hartford Police Department, except on a larger scale. In a nutshell, the Windsor Locks incident resulted from a lack of leadership. Hartford's problems appear to be the same, a lack of leadership by the HPD Command staff, except on a larger and more widespread scale.

Apparently the Command staff was given a briefing on the results of the investigation last week and it doesn't appear that it will be flattering to Chief Roberts or his Assistant or Deputy Chiefs.

Interestingly though, shortly after the briefing, more shake-ups of HPD Lieutenants took place. The most notable was another transfer of Lt. Neville Brooks. The original transfer of Brooks was the impetus that caused the Mayor to call for the outside independent investigation. Lt. Brooks was the Commander of the Internal Affairs Division and apparently was overseeing several investigations that involved members of the HPD Command staff, including Assistant Chief John Horvath and Deputy Chief Scott Sansom.

Most indications are that once the investigations came too close to the Chief's Complex, pressure was put on Chief Roberts to remove Brooks to keep the investigations from moving forward. Chief Roberts initially told me that he moved Brooks "to protect him".

According to sources familiar with the matter, two Sergeant's working directly under Brooks in IAD were instrumental in working with the Command Staff to try to build a case against Brooks. So far that investigation has apparently produced no information resulting in any type of charges against Brooks.

For his "protection" , Brooks was moved to the Special Events Division. After the briefing last week of the Command staff, Brooks was once again transferred. I'm not sure why another change was necessary, especially before the report is released, and even more so knowing that it would appear to many observers as retaliation once again. Brooks has hired the law firm of Halloran and Halloran and is pursuing legal action against Chief Roberts and the City of Hartford.

Apparently when Chief Roberts called Lt Brooks in to advise him of his transfer, he informed Brooks that his previous transfer to Special Events "wasn't working out" and "for the good of the Department" he was transferring Brooks once again, this time to Headquarters. Brooks will be assigned as the Lieutenant on the midnight shift.

From what sources inside HPD are telling me, Lt. Brooks's supervisor, Captain William Long was very satisfied with Brooks's performance as the Commander of Special Events and the latest transfer was orchestrated by specific members of the Command staff.

In addition to Brooks's transfer, other changes were made also. Lieutenant Marco Tedeschi, who was the department advocate, is also being transferred to be a Headquarters Lieutenant. The Department advocate is responsible for reviewing department discipline and making recommendations directly to the Chief as a result of IAD investigations. Tedeschi is being replaced by probationary Lieutenant Mike Manson.

It seems somewhat troubling that the two key HPD positions responsible for investigating and discipline of HPD officers are both now probationary Lieutenants.
Lt Rob Davis replaced Brooks when he was originally transferred out as the IAD commander. Probationary Lieutenants can be demoted and returned to their previous ranks which gives the opportunity for the Command staff to exert a large amount of influence over their decision making if used.

In addition, Lt. Kevin Martin who was previously a midnight Headquarters Lieutenant, will be re-assigned to Special Events. Lt Bruce Roy, also a Headquarters Lieutenant, will be re-assigned to Zone 3, which is part of the Northeast area of the City according to HPD sources.

Another transfer which does not seem to be a direct result of potential fallout from the Rudewicz report is the impending transfer of the Lieutenant assigned as Commander of the Traffic Division. Lt. Chris Mefford, according to sources, had an IAD complaint initiated against him by Chief Roberts for an alcohol related incident. That allegation has apparently been sustained by the Department as a charge of "conduct unbecoming an Officer". This complaint follows at least two other "on-duty" accidents in a City vehicle where alcohol was determined to be a factor.

In the mean time, some HPD union members are apparently pushing for a vote of "no confidence" in Chief Roberts and Mayor Segarra. HPD officers have been working without a contract for over a year and apprently negotiations are moving at a snails pace.

Apparently Chief Roberts also had some comments to make about comments posted here. During an interview with WNPR's Jeff Cohen, Roberts referred to some posters here as "cowards" . According to Jeff's report "the chief says personnel matters have been made worse by anonymous comments on a local, well-read blog."

Here is Roberts quote, "The blog is a venue for the weak, it's a venue for cowards, it's a venue for people who don't have the fortitude to put their name and stand behind what they're saying. Some of these guys are cops who've either been disciplined by me or who don't like a decision I've made."

Chief, might I suggest that it is easy to throw stones to deflect attention. Your lack of conviction for right and wrong is what will prove to be your legacy as Chief. Bowing down to those that you know are intent on undermining you can not be considered leadership. In the end, you will not be able to deflect attention from the lack of leadership and the vindictiveness of your command staff , no matter how many tranfers you make.

And just a question Chief, if the "cowards" who post were to sign their names, would they be the next Lieutenant Brooks? Would the "cowards" suddenly also suffer retaliation from the Command Staff?

You can read Jeff's report by clicking on the link to the right


The Rudewicz report promises to make for some very interesting summer reading when it is released any time now.

15 comments:

I'm Anonymous, I'm not a fool said...

Chief,

Brookman should be getting an award for what he has done for exposing the lack of leadedrship at HPD. The "cowards" you mention are your Lieutenant's who you try to reward for diving under trucks when the situations get tense. Your leadership is a disater and without the blog and the comments, there would have never been an outside investigation to expose what you are condoning and allowing by your Command staff.

We need a Chief as a leader, not a tyrannical Command staff. We had high hopes for you as a Chief.

Anonymous said...

Seriously do you think we will see that investigation? The Windsor Locks/Rudiwiciez investigation is posted on their town website- but you can bet Natalie doesn't want that to happen in Hartford. My guess is we will never get to see the full details of the Hartford-Rudiwiciez investigation; too much embarrassment, too much liability.

It’s funny how the Rudiwiciez report came out and now all of a sudden we are going to punish Mefferd for having a bit too much of “Grandpa’s Medicine”. Two years ago, pre-blog, Mefferd’s incident is not even a blip on the DKR radar screen. Now if Dailey did the same thing, DKR would’ve hung him out on the steps of the Old State House, and then called the Courant to brag about it. Same old story, some get punished while others get protected. One might say that the way DKR has protected Mefferd in the past, has only worsened his current situation. Rumor is probationary Capt. Bernier made another homophobic sexual innuendo to an officer, in front of other Sgt.’s and officers on the street the other night, complaint to follow. How many times will this guy get protected?

If Capt. Buyak spoke like that DKR would have him demoted to School Crossing Guard (ref. use of the word “whore” in comstat).
DKR is in a mad scramble to right his wrongs, and give the appearance of righteousness. He wants to save his reputation, legacy and image- you can’t fault the man for that. Except for the Neville transfer, that stinks out loud.

Please don’t forget about the sergeants, they (or we for now) stand up and speak out here too.
“The blog is a venue for the weak, it's a venue for cowards” so be it. It sure got McKrash and his crooked ways out of here in a hurry. Ps. Didn’t Roberts used to like this blog and use it himself?

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable, just when I thought this place couldn't get any worse....Chief Roberts.... you sir are an absolute disgrace to the Hartford Police Department and it's members.  When are you going to realize that it is time leave!! Face the facts, we are done with you. The sad part of this whole mess is that you were given, not earned, the tittle of chief by way of sleazy politics, back door deals, and favors from fast Eddie. You probably got new granite counter tops and cabinets with your stars out of that deal too. We all know that if it wasn't for Rob Murtha writing your  college papers for you, you'd still be an oxygen thief in car 16 on  C squad!!! You are a phony, plain and simple. Your motto of " Success is never final", WHAT A JOKE!!! I would be willing to bet Murtha probably wrote that one for you too. 

Anonymous said...

Kevin....you havent posted very much about the upcoming primary and elections for months...you seem to want to post cop stuff and that is fine, but we have a major primary and election and governance facing us for the next 4 years and you are missing in action.

Thom Page said...

Kevin : Here we are with the pros and cons of anonymous comments again. I think you would do yourself, the City and everyone a favor if you just stopped them and instead let those anonymous commenters tell you what information they have, and you post it yourself under your own name - that would instill some accountability. If your commenters won't put their names on things they say(and be accountable), you can get the information out to the public easily by putting out these presumably valuable pieces of information as regular postings on your blog, just like print journalists.

It's time for all this legitimate and necessary information to have at least a semblance of credibility, especially since it is so relevant to the City's health and future. Chief Roberts and everyone else who complains about anonymous postings have a legitimate point.

Jeff James said...

Thom - How is info from anonymous sources more credible if Kevin posts it? You still won't know who the info came from, their identities will still be a secret, so all you will know is Kevin decided to post something.

Anonymous said...

Thom..

With all due respect.. I do not know many people who are willing to risk their ass in this city by exposing what is sacred.. a surname..
There is no loyalty or respect here. With that said, let this be one place the citizens can post in the city and vent.

3ft tall hPd grass said...

When that report becomes public. And it will. The dept and the city will look more corrupt then the nixon administation. I think the mayor needs to take charge instead of taking advice from corporate council. He might as well take advice from the muppet show ........

Ulysses S Grante said...

Thom is wrong...someone can just post a fake name and then post their message,his suggestion doesn't solve a thing.

Also anonymous and not a fool said...

Thom, by us being able to post anonymously, it gives us an arena which to be heard and express ourselves. I/We would love to take credit and stand up for ourselves by putting our respective names on our postings, but this place(HPD) is toxic and one puts his/her name on their posting at the risk of their career(s). Believe it or not, this is actually therapeutic and a minor stress reliever. Kevin, you just keep up the good work and Thom, if the police related postings bother or offend you, ignore them until one of the political postings appear, as I'm sure they will. With all due respect.

Anonymous said...

The Chief just wants to know who's posting about the PD so he can retaliate.

Keep in mind this is a man who made it an order all vests now have to be worn. This was in response to us having to go to the media just to get new vests because they were falling apart on us and he was too busy ordering new computers and carpets for the 2nd floor.

Locker room mic said...

Once the feds take over. And eventually based on the latest corruption , they will have the second running for the hills.

Anonymous said...

Re the captain making a homosexual slur rumor: So here is the big question- How does he handle it?
Should the Captain ignore it and act like it never happened and hope it goes away?
Should he go the lie route and deny ever saying such a thing?-Maybe contact some of the officers who overheard it and convince them to deny hearing anything.
Should he admit making the comment, but say it was private between friends?
Should he get out in front of this mess and fall on the sword, apologize to the officer and notify his supervisor of the comment, accept some sensitivity training and be done with it?

I mean really, he was the Department advocate, and has punished people for much less indiscretions. But things have changed, or are changing rapidly. Suddenly the protected people are not so protected. If this happened a year ago, the captain could sit back and relax, knowing nothing would happen to him. But now he might actually have to answer for his actions, maybe face some minor discipline (regardless of what those article 12 codes say). The cover-up has always been much worse than the crime. The whole PD is watching to see how this one is handled. Especially since one of the guys who overheard the comment is being punished for the exact same thing. Fair is fair.

Now how does the PD handle it?
Does the PD ignore the blog and not even ask the captain if he made a comment and act like nothing ever happened? Do they ignore it and hope it goes away or keep fingers crossed and hope the Sergeant does not make a complaint?
Does the PD have the captain's supervisor, Dept Chief Ceizenski, just ask the captain if he made the comment. Maybe use the whole incident as a learning moment, who knows. But this thing will be a good barometer as to how things are being handled…. Did somebody say that the captain is on probation and currently has other open investigations?

James Brown (good god) said...

Lets see if one individual is offered a suspension for making a similar comment why should the Capt. get any less. DKR has always said fair, firm and consitant is how he rolls, yeah right. As long as he is in the corner office things will not change, and the longer he is there the further HPD falls into the crapper. If things don't change soon it will be like the scene in the move the Ten Commandments when Moses led the enslaved out of Egypt, with a mass exodus of officers leaving to go to other depts. Hopefully the red sea (aka the Rudewicz report) will come crashing down on the command staff just
like in the movie, but it can't come soon enough.

Anonymous said...

I am going to make an internal hurt feelings report and issue it to every member of hpd