(Hartford) - Hartford Police Detectives have obtained arrest warrants for two suspects involved in the July 1, 2011 murder of Angel Luis Gomez, which took place at 226 Martin Street Hartford, Connecticut. This investigation was conducted in a cooperative effort between the Hartford Police Major Crimes Division and the Shooting Task Force. The suspects have been identified as Jose A. Rivera, and Kahari Martin, both of Hartford. Rivera’s arrest warrant charges him with Murder and Criminal Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Martin’s arrest warrant charges him with Accessory to Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder. Both are currently incarcerated for an unrelated shooting incident and firearm charges. Rivera and Martin will be arrested on the outstanding warrants at their respective court appearances during the month of October. The Hartford Police Department Major Crimes Division is asking anyone with information about this incident to contact HPD Major Crimes Division Sergeant Brandon O’Brien at (860) 757-4089.
It looks like Mayor Segarra has possibly opened Pandora's box with the Rudewicz Report, so the next question is, what now?
Can the fact that former Assistant Chief Neil Dryfe removed IAD files from the Department just "go away"? Does Mayor Segarra intend to pursue this for the integrity of the Department or will it just be swept under the political carpet with all of the other dirt? How can the public possibly have confidence in IAD knowing that all you have to do is get an Assistant Chief to remove your case file and the investigation goes away?
Will the State's Attorney begin an investigation into why and how this happened, or is it more of the good old boy network taking care of their own? Who was the subject of the investigations Dryfe removed and what were the allegations?
And Mayor, now that the end goal has been achieved of Chief Roberts retirement, where do you go from here. Are you going to reward any members of the current Command staff for essentially undermining the Department and Chief Roberts and being part of the overall implosion of the Chief's Office? Or will you look at those who have actually consistently stepped up and done the right things?
Mayor, just read a couple of Lt. Tedeschi's memo's while he was the Department Advocate. That should tell you all you need to know about his integrity. That should also tell you why he is no longer the Advocate. He spoke out on what was ethical and right, even when it wasn't popular.
Mayor, look at Lt. Sigersmith. If the Command Staff had listened to him when he suggested some shooting initiatives last winter, it wouldn't have taken the Governor to start the Shooting Task Force. And as you are well aware, the Shooting Task Force is making you look pretty good right now to just about everyone. Lt. Sigersmith is overseeing that operation and is more than competent.I was impressed one night when I was talking to Lt Sigersmith and we were standing in the North Meadows, he looked at the downtown skyline and stated what a beautiful City Hartford was and it had so much potential. Not a bad mindset for someone to run the Department.
The list can go on, Lt. Rodriguez seems to have been able to stay under the radar, but he is also more than capable to be part of the Command staff. Just read the comments here and you should be well aware that the rank and file have great respect for Captain Buyak. Put Captain Buyak on the Command staff overseeing the Patrol Division and I am pretty sure you would see that part of HPD excel and produce even more results than they already do.
And not surprisingly, I don't think you have seen any of their names mentioned as part of the Rudewicz Report or attached to any scandals or improper behavior.
Unfortunately, none of the names I mentioned above are a** kissers, so if that's the direction you want to go, ignore the above three paragraphs. I could offer you the names of others that would more than fit that bill, but I think it might be time to take your (and our) Police Department seriously. If you want to turn around the environment at Jennings Road, these might be the people to do it.
I'll believe the Rudewicz Report was worthwhile and not just a political sham for you when I see you step up and make the tough decisions and do what you know you have an obligation to do as Mayor, and let's see if the Jello Council steps up also.
What is being called a "drug factory", run by Lincoln Culinary Institute students was uncovered today at the school and broken up today by Hartford Police. According to sources, Hartford Police Northwest Area Commander Captain Joseph Buyak and Farmington Ave beat Officer John Zweibelson uncovered what is being called a "drug factory" run by students at the LCI.
At least three students, make that former students, were arrested on various charges related to the operation of a "drug factory". The former students were arrested and held on $300,000 bond, but in true Judical fashion their bonds were reduced to "written promises to appear" according to sources.
It seems like just a couple short months ago Hartford Democrats were standing on the steps of City Hall about to break into a flash mob version of "KUMBAYA". Oh for the good old days when Governor Malloy was able to pull together "Team Segarra", to bring about unity for the good of Hartford, calling on Democrats to put their differences aside and join behind Mayor Segarra and Council candidate Shawn Wooden.
All for the good of Hartford, all to make Hartford a better City, it was the right thing to do.
Then on to the Convention and more "Kumbaya". Pedro Segarra pulled off the nomination for Mayor. Shawn Wooden who went into the Convention with a handful of support came out at the end of the night with the majority of the votes of the nominee's. Thank goodness for behind the scenes arm twisting, it worked out well for Wooden.
Sean Arena and rJo Winch were blindsided and Kate Kowalshyn was left spinning wondering what the 1st District politicos had done to her. No female candidates were selected for the endorsed slate, and Kate was left out in the cold to gather signatures. The hope was she would be able to do it, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Even though she would have probably been one of the most sensible Council members to sit on the Council dais in recent history, she was led down the wrong path by the HDTC brain trust from the 1st District.
If only there was a GPS unit available to give Kate correct political directions, she might not have run into the brick wall that ended her chances.
Luckily for the HDTC, Governor Malloy was able to get everyone to see the light and unify behind "Team Segarra". Except for one problem apparently. Governor Malloy came from a town that apparently had political integrity and people that realized "your word is your bond".
Welcome to Hartford politics Governor.
Apparently the Governor's help wasn't enough to ensure Segarra's election. The support of a handful of Republicans apparently was needed to put Team Segarra over the top and the negotiations began to solidify the last living Republicans in Hartford to support the Democrats. Well at least some of the Democrats.
It seems that the Republicans only wanted part of team Segarra and left half of the Council slate on the edge of the playground, not picked for the big game. Sorry Governor, only the best get to be chosen for the Republican Team. Well, not really the best but they already had three "R's" running so they could only allow three more to fill out the Republican row. And since GOP Chair Mike McGrayy ended his sham run for Mayor to open the line for that loyal Republican Pedro Segarra, I mean Democrat Segarra, oh I'm confused, who stands for what anymore.
So anyway, only three "D's" could be on the "R's" line with the Segarra "D" as the Republican "R" ,a choice had to be made. The Mayoral candidate "D" who dropped out of the Mayor's race at the request of the "D" Governor for "D" party unity also was the high vote getter in the "D" primary. So that kind of sealed his fate. Since he was a threat to Mayor Segarra in the Mayoral race (which he dropped out of for party unity) he now was threat to the "D's" operation if he actually could eventually gain the top position as Council President.
Luckily Hartford's version of Jurassic Park, I mean the Hartford Republican Town Committee, was willing to wheel and deal for their survival. The conversation probably went something like this.
Republicans: "Let's cut a deal here. No countertops though, we both already got in trouble for that. We will cross endorse you and fill our line with Democrat's, even though you have doubled Hartford's taxes, increased the budget over $150 million dollars in the last decade, are financially reckless and go against just about everything the GOP stands for, but as you know we are desperate".
Democrats:" We have over 30,000 voters, not to mention 10,000 unaffiliated voters citywide, why would we need your endorsement?"
Republicans: " Because we need to stop the Working Family Party, they are a threat. Look at what they have done already, they knocked out two Republican council seats, they got their own Registrar of Voters who makes both of our Registrars look bad by actually doing her job and earning her salary. We need to stop them, not to mention Brookman, who knows what he is capable of if he ever got inside City Hall, it's bad enough with him working from the outside"
Democrats: "OK, makes sense, but we don't want to include Wooden, we already have it worked out for Council President and he is not part of our plan. Minnie can cut her own deals to get deJesus on and the other guy, what's his name, is on his own. Besides, look at what they are doing in Waterbury with altered test scores, we don't need anyone looking at that here"
Republicans : "Yeah. that's the last thing we want is anyone finding out about this sweet deal until it is too late, by that time we can change all the ordinances we want and no one can do anything, especially since the Mayor is solidly behind this"
And finally the whole scene ends with a 3 Musketeer cheer, "All for one and one for all, off to the polls"
For the actual version of what was supposed to be Democratic Party unity in Hartford, take a look at the video below:
According to an e-mail sent today by Hartford City Clerk John Bazzano, the three Democratic Council candidates being endorsed by the Hartford Republican's have rejected the endorsement. Democratic Treasure candidate Adam Cloud, also rejected the endorsement.
Mayor Pedro Segarra has not rejected the endorsement. According to sources, it may be difficult for Segarra to back out now since he was apparently the "architect" behind the deal with McGarry.
Also word is that Segarra fired all of his campaign staff last week and that most of the campaign's funds have been depleted. The next campaign filings are not due until shortly before the election November 8, 2011. Apparently John Kennelly was nominated to do the "dirty deed" and took the ax to all of Segarra's staff. Maybe extra security should be implemented at the Hartford Public Library now that at least one of Segarra's campaign confidants is back on the street.
Here is Bazzano's e-mail below:
From: Bazzano, John V. Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 9:02 AM To: Bramante, Salvatore A.; Petit, Urania; Vazquez, Olga I. Subject:
FYI,
Kyle Anderson, Councilman Alex Aponte and Councilman Kenneth Kennedy have declined the endorsement from the Republican Party. Copies of their letter/emails have been hand delivered to your respective offices.
John V. Bazzano Town and City Clerk 550 Main Street Hartford, CT 06103 (860) 757-9755
Early on the question was asked of me if I thought Frank Rudewicz was being "set up for failure" when he was contracted to investigate HPD. I'm not sure if he was "set up", but the answer seems clear that the report was pretty much a failure no matter how you look at it. I responded to that question that I guessed the report would be the only answer to that , one way or the other. The answer to that now seems pretty clear, the scope of the report was so limited that it really won't change much, other than maybe the Chief of HPD.
The questions that drew the report into question for me, and the agenda behind the report, are more in what it didn't say and maybe the way that it seemed to present one sided facts.
I had hoped from the beginning that the report would be legitimate and a hunt for the facts. Once I heard that the report was sent back to Rudewicz a couple weeks ago for "changes and clarifications" I began to lose hope. The report should have been submitted as completed without any interpretations or "corrections" submitted by the City or Mayor Segarra. That was not the case.
Rudewicz took the report back to make the changes requested by the City. What those changes were we will probably never know. Shouldn't it have been up to the City and Mayor Segarra to present their side if they thought the report was inaccurate or if they wanted to make clarifications?
And it also seems odd to me that depending who was being discussed, they almost went out of their way to "bury" certain individuals, while giving others a free pass.
Why is it that out of over 45 people interviewed the only one that seems to be clearly identified and actually quoted through documents he submitted was Sergeant Gabe Laureano? Was there a need to identify Laureano as the "IAD snitch" to add emphasis to how bad IAD supposedly was? Where is the record of the other 45 interviews? If IAD was so bad, was Laureano the only one who felt it?
I know I mentioned this in my original posts, but where was the mention, other than here on the blog, that Lt Brooks was battling cancer during the period that they called his attendance into question? Without all of the facts it paints a negative picture of Brooks. It also seems quite ironic that Lt Brooks was just given an "Exemplary Service Award" for the period 2000 to 2010, in part for his excellent work attendance record.
Why were the Dryfe's, both former Assistant Chief Neil Dryfe and his wife, retired Sergeant Cindy Dryfe, just brushed over as "former officer" who removed reports from HPD. Might it have been noteworthy that Chief Drye was a previous Commander of IAD and should have known better. If Dryfe was so concerned about the operations of IAD in his memo to Chief Roberts, shouldn't he have returned the missing files first?
And just out of curiosity, the files that the Dryfe's removed from HPD pertained to what? Whose cases were they and what were the allegations? Were they friends of the Dryfe's that were being protected from investigation? And from what sources are telling me, the reports still have not been returned. Is there another investigation into that matter now or is it just water over the dam?
The mention of these missing reports in the Rudewicz report was so brief it seemed like a "non-incident" . To me though, files removed by a former IAD commander, who would later become an Assistant Chief and eventually the Police Chief in Cheshire is more troublesome to me than any personality conflicts Sgt. Laureano may have had or how many times Lt. Brooks scanned his keytag to get into the office.
The issue of access to the IAD complex is also a red herring. It is pretty much wide open, but that is not the doing of Lt. Brooks or anyone else in IAD. I have gone to look at FOI requests and they took me into IAD each time at the conference table in there. Security at HPD has never been a priority and until something drastic happens, it most likely never will be, IAD is no exception.
Back in 2006 the City contracted another report on HPD by a buddy of then Chief Patrick Harnett.m Gordon Wasserman was hired for a study entitled "POLICE DO MATTER" which was submitted in July of 2006 to former Mayor Eddie Perez. It was a more wide ranging scope of HPD, but it touch briefly on IAD.
One of the objectives mentioned was the "IAD Steering Committee" and stated "in keeping with the Department's new emphasis on accountability, the entire complaints investigation process, including the various time limits, is now monitored by a new IAD Steering Committee, which meets twice a month. Chaired by the Chief of Police personally, the committee includes the Chief of Detectives, the Chief of Patrol and the Lieutenant in charge of IAD and his investigators. The meeting reviews all open cases and monitors progress in much the same way as COMPSTAT meetings monitor progress relating to crime in the streets. The IAD investigators are held personally accountable for the status of their investigations and for ensuring that these are handled expeditiously, fairly and professionally.".
If that was the case, the blame seems to be much more wide ranging than just dumping on LT. Brooks. Where was the Chief of Police, the Chief of Patrol and the Chief of Detectives during the time period that IAD, according to the Rudewicz report, became such a mess. When was the last time the "IAD Steering Committe" met. And if they were meeting regularly as the Wasserman report states, shouldn't any management issues have been identified in weeks, rather than months?
Also, according to the Wasserman report, on January 1, 2006, "IAD upgraded its computer systems significantly by implementing a new software package, IAPRO, which both the New York City and Philadelphia Police Departments use to handle their inernal affairs cases." The Rudewicz report does mention IAPro and its "red flag" component. To the best of my knowledge, Lt Brooks was not the IAD Commander in 2006, and it might have been interesting to note if thjose "red flag" components were ever enabled at the time. If not why and who was the Commander at the time, and if they were enabled, who disabled them, or were the "red flags" just being ignored when they popped up?
If nothing else, maybe it is time to start listening to people who have suggestions inside the HPD, rather than shutting them down as "malcontents". If all of these things just happened to slide by all of those on the Command staff, do we really need all o those positions on the second floor. The Wasserman report, if I remember correctly, was well over $200,000. The Rudewicz report probably will be in excess of $100,000. It might be cheaper for the City to just commission an "outside independent investigation" every couple years and eliminate a few Chief's positions. It looks like the reports keep identifying the same issues and nothing changes, so why the top heavy command staff.
Add into that amount the money being spent by the City defending poor management decisions as well as the likely six-figure settlements that come out of these complaints and lawsuits, and you have to definitely question the management decisions, or more likely their inability to make decisions.
Maybe it is time for a position of Public Safety Commissioner who has management experience and can run the Department as a manger , not as a cop. Daryl Roberts is someone I consider a friend, but you have to look at the facts. He went from the rank of Lieutenant to Assistant Chief and then Chief. The size of the organization does not allow for little or no management experience, other than maybe a squad of 10, 15, or even 20 officers. It requires knowledge of budgets, labor laws, community issues, purchasing requirements, FOI laws and the list goes on and on. Quite frankly, there aren't a lot of people that have that wealth of knowledge, Daryl Roberts included.
The only saving grace would be someone that was smart enough to surround themselves with the best and the brightest they could find, and even Daryl Roberts has admitted to me he hasn't done that.
The report was a disappointment, but in the end, I think it accomplished the original goal. Mayor Segarra won't have to terminate or refuse to renew the Chief's contract. Daryl Roberts will be gone as of December 31, 2010 as he retires.
The next big test will be the choice for "acting" Chief and the new permanent Chief. I have some ideas for the Mayor, but since I encouraged him to give Chief Roberts a chance last year, I'm not sure how well my suggestions will be taken this time around. I still stand by giving Chief Roberts a chance to run with the leadership of HPD, unfortunately he didn't come out like I thought he would and make a difference.
BUILDING CLEANERS AT HARTFORD COURANT WILL RALLY TO SAVE THEIR JOBS
-- Protest Aims to Keep Courant’s Unionized Cleaning Company, Protect Good Jobs --
Building cleaners at Connecticut’s largest newspaper will rally Wednesday to protest their expected job loss if the paper terminates its long-time contract with a unionized cleaning company. The workers learned recently that the Hartford Courant could end its contract with Capitol Cleaning as early as October 1, which would throw the building’s eight cleaners out of work. Some of these men and women have been at the building more than 20 years. The workers have reached out to the Courant to apply to continue working under any new contractor. The company has not responded to their requests.
Kurt Westby, Connecticut State Director for SEIU 32BJ, said it is significant that all of the workers are full-time and have health benefits as well as a retirement plan. “These are good jobs that have given these workers and their families a toehold in the middle-class,” Westby said. “Hartford needs its employers to help in creating more good jobs, not destroying them. We call on the Courant to retain Capitol Cleaning, and not throw hard-working members of our community out on the street.”
WHAT: Rally to save good jobs
WHO: Building cleaners at the Courant, their supporters, other members of 32BJ SEIU, and area labor leaders
WHEN: 12 P.M. on Wednesday, September 28, 2011
WHERE: On Flower Street, across from the parking lot of the Hartford Courant at 285 Broad Street, Hartford
Isn't this the way Hartford should be every weekend?
Saturday started as a cloudy, overcast rainy day. The day began as we prepared to bury a good friend to us and to Hartford, former Councilman John O'Connell. The funeral mass was a time to recall anecdotes about John, some shared by the priest who apparently knew John well. His son Jay's euology drew on many pleasant memories and even a few comical stories, similar to those John used to love to tell. Many of them brought smiles and nods from the people in attendance as we recalled the John O'Connell we knew.
I was honored to be asked to be one of the pall bearers and thought about the many things I have learned from John over the few years we have been friends. I used to always laugh it off when people referred to me as the "young John O'Connell" when they would see me stirring things up at City Hall, especially the last couple years when John's health didn't always allow him to be as involved as he loved to be.
If I could make the change and contribute to Hartford as well as John did, I would be honored to be compared to him any day. As anyone who knew John can attest, Robert's Rules of Order was sometimes the strongest weapon he had in his artillery. Well, that combined with his intelligence and his strong presence. I was grateful when John's wife Carol gave me permission to put my personal copy of Robert's Rules of Order in the casket with John to be buried with him (along with a piece of my campaign literature folded inside for good luck). It's the Irish thing I guess.
I won't go into detail at this point, but the police escort became a big deal Friday evening for all the wrong reasons.Thank you to Chief Roberts, Mayor Segarra and Captain William Long for getting it done The police escort provided for the funeral procession was impressive and I'm sure made John's family very proud of the respect that was shown to him on the way to his final resting place. I especially want to thank Sergeant John Bremser from the Traffic Division for pulling it all together and making the escort happen. Sgt. Bremser, Lt. Kevin Ahlquist and Officer Kevin Nesta were all very impressive as they escorted the procession along I-84 and I-91 on the way to the cemetery.
John would have been very proud knowing both 84 and 91 were shut down temporarily for his procession, although he probably would have also been questioning the cost and were the cops being paid overtime and where was the money allocated in the budget.
It was also ironic that downtown Hartford and the Riverfront were bustling with Irish spirit Saturday for "Pipes in the Valley" , held at Riverfront Plaza. John was always extremely proud of his Irish heritage and to see the large crowds celebrating the Irish spirit would have had John beaming with pride in both his Irish culture and the hospitality of the City he loved.
You couldn't help but realize the potential that John always saw in Hartford and realize why he fought so hard to make our City a better place when you stood on the plaza and look at the Marriott, the Convention Center and the great lines of the Connecticut Science Center.
For some reason , I think John was right there with us enjoying the sounds of the bagpipes spilling out over Hartford, the Connecticut River and beyond.
The awaited report is in , and I'm not really sure how many questions it has answered. What it does seem to depict though is an almost "junior-high school" type of mentality that seems to permeate the department driven by personality conflicts and gossip.
The report did seem to accomplish one of ,what I believe, was its main goals. Chief Roberts has submitted his resignation/retirement as of December 31, 2011. It also seems to point out what most likely is a need for a complete housecleaning at the top. Highly paid administrators are paid those salaries to avoid, or at least deal with, the issues outlined in the report before they rise to the level of attorney battles.
As I have mentioned here before, Neville Brooks and myself have been friends since grammar school. Although much of the blame in the report seems to be placed on him in the narrow scope that was addressed, there is a much greater problem that needs to be addressed. A couple details were left out of the report that may have clarified a few things.
First off was the issue of the "5 month absence" and his sporadic attendance during that period. I am not defending Neville Brooks here, but what's fair is fair, just don't cast a cloud of doubt and then not explain it. During that period, Lt. Brooks suffered a bout with cancer and underwent surgery, chemo therapy and a difficult recovery process. It wasn't that he was hanging out at the casino or just didn't feel like coming to work.
This was common knowledge among the Command Staff and the responsibility to fill Brooks' void during that period was squarely with Chief Roberts, the direct supervisor of the IAD Commander. That wasn't done, and the responsibility for a division running without any direction, or very little, belongs with the Chief.
It was also interesting to note the issue of the missing reports. Although the report did not mention "the former officer", sources have told me that two individuals had IAD reports in their possession after they left HPD. Former Assistant Chief Neil Dryfe and his wife, former IAD Sergeant Cindy Dryfe both had taken reports with them.
It seems interesting that Dryfe expresses his concern over Brooks' leadership in the memo listed as an exhibit to Chief Roberts, but he may have also contributed to the problem by removing reports, for whatever reason.
The issue of the security and access into the IAD complex was actually addressed in the early 1990's when a security system was installed in the IAD Complex. This was done after the IAD office area was allegedly broken into by a police officer climbing over a wall from an adjoining bathroom. The system was eventually cancelled because under Mayor Perez the City didn't want to pay for its maintenance and monitoring.
Another interesting part is how the complaints apparently were started. The complaint from Sergeant Laureano to Assistant Chief Horvath details claims of a hostile work environment and allegations that Brooks was seeking retaliation against the Chief's. Even though no one else seemed to have issues, Horvath moved forward.
As a side note, Sergeant Laureano claims he was unable to sleep because of the stress Brooks' behavior put him under. That might explain a lot since many wonder when Laureano does sleep. He is one of HPD's highest money earners as of this time because of his private job and overtime schedule, working in excess of 18 or 20 hours many days.
Sergeant Laureano has recently landed a position as Commander of the Northeast Condition's Unit.
The report does seem to point out many management issues, but this report only hits the tip of the iceberg. It claims morale is poor because of inconsistent discipline and the potential intimidation of officers fearing underhanded or uneven handling of discipline.
It is up to Mayor Segarra now as to whether this report will sit on a shelf like so many others, or will it actually be implemented. It reminds me of words Mayor Segarra spoke this past Saturday at the funeral of John O'Connell. "To remain silent is cowardly" Segarra said. So far the silence has been deafening from City Hall, much of this was known before any report was ever commissioned
Hartford City Council candidate Ken Kennedy has become the first to reject the "cross" endorsement supposedly struck between the Hartford Republicans and the Hartford Democrats. The deal has struck up controversy on both sides and has left many voters unhappy, from those I have spoke with.
Even among Republicans most have questioned McGarry's choice to endorse the Democrats. It raises some interesting issues for Republicans who typically believe in smaller government, reduced spending , lower taxes and small business support. The endorsements were given to individuals that have shown the extreme opposite in the way Hartford has been run for the last decade. Hartford's mill rate has doubled, city spending has increased over $150 million dollars and Hartford's small businesses are being taxed out of existence.
Here is Kennedy's e-mail rejecting the McGarry endorsement:
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: FW: Republican Endorsement
From: "Kenneth Kennedy, Jr." >
To: Ramon Arroyo >,Adam Cloud >,"
Hon. Pedro E. Segarra" >," Hon. Alexander Aponte"
>, Kyle Anderson >
CC:
I have informed the republican party that I will not accept their endorsement in
the interest of Democratic Party unity. I hope this settles the issue as the
Council seems to be the real problem as we have 6 candidates and are not running
by ourseleves as the other offices.
I know many of you are loving the use of the "alternative means" to bring you documents here.
The document below is another such case. It involves the Lt. Ed Dailey investigation by Captain James Bernier. The whole matter has the potential to be another legal mess costing the City substantial amounts to settle.
Last week I posted some of the documents I obtained through "alternative means" and many of you were surprised by the "one-sidedness" of Bernier's report. Dailey's rebuttal to IAD Commander Lt. Rob Davis seemed to raise more questions than provide answers as to how Bernier chose to leave much of the information that would have helped Dailey out of his "investigation".
Dailey's rebuttal memo was submitted to Davis after the previous IAD Commander Lt. Neville Brooks was removed under another questionable decision that also has the potential to cost city taxpayers substantially to settle.
Now another document has been given to me by "alternative means". In April, I made an FOI request to the city for "any and all documents" related to the Lt. Dailey investigation to an incident that happened on Rockville Street. No document, not even one piece of paper was given to me responsive to my request.
Hearing's were finished today before the FOI Commission, and the more documents I receive through "alternative means" that are relative to my request, it becomes much clearer how wrong this whole matter is and it seems to make the Rudewicz report pale in comparison. It also seems to make it clear why the City and HPD did not want the documents anywhere near my hands to be able to read.
I doesn't take a lawyer or a Judge to read Lt. Tedeschi's memo and realize that the Dailey investigation conducted by Captain Bernier was the furthest thing from fair and unbiased. It could be characterized as a witch hunt. I think the big question for me is that if Bernier was willing to leave out much of the information that would have cleared Dailey, a fellow police officer, to what length would he go if he wanted to slant a case against an average citizen..
The major fact in Tedeschi's memo is that even though Bernier kept referring to the crime scene and the assault, witness statements led to a different conclusion. There was no assault according to two witnesses, Tillie and John Pittman. A report by Officer Caron stated that the Pittman's witnessed the alleged "assault" victim fall down their rear stairs after he was pounding on their rear door.
Tedeschi also interviewed John Pittman and was told the same version, yet the Caron report was not included in Captain Berniers report, which would have seemed to show that no crime had even taken place to start with. Tedeschi, as Department Advocate, further states in his memo that Dailey's actions do no rise to the level of the charges lodged against Dailey.
It really makes me question the integrity of some at HPD and to the extent that some will go to carry out personality conflicts and vendettas. It also raises the issue of how a document such as Tedeschi's memo can be in existence, with apparently no action being taken against the original author of what now seem, most likely, to be false allegations against Lt. Dailey.
A call to Captain Bernier earlier this evening for comment was not returned.
Apparently that was the word on Facebook today regarding the sudden retirement of Hartford Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts. And now for all of my blog readers, it is official , Chief Roberts is retiring effective December 31st 2011.
I think we all knew it was coming, one way or another. The Rudewicz Report was apparently submitted to the City on Monday and word is that Tuesday was not a pleasant day for the Chief at City Hall. Thursday was a little bit better, Chief Roberts won a set of golf clubs at the HPD Union Golf outing. That may have been an omen that it was time for retirement for DKR.
And now today Chief Roberts submitted his letter of retirement. We won't know what was in the Rudewicz Report until Mayor Segarra releases it under that policy of transparency we keep hearing about. I think it is safe to say though that the report had a lot to do with this retirement.
It really is unfortunate that we are at this point now. DKR came in at a time when we needed a strong Chief(not that there ever is a time you don't need a strong Chief). He was well accepted by just about every corner of the City. He had a personality that people could relate to, myself included. Even when we weren't on the best of terms, the Chief still took my calls and responded when needed.
He had a lot of potential, but that old management saying that "you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with" should have been painted on his office wall in 2 foot high letters to remind him everyday. Daryl surrounded himself with some that were clearly incompetent, some that were set on undermining him to get his job and some that just had no business being anywhere near the second floor.
The really sad part is that Chief Roberts knew it. We had a discussion a few months ago he readily acknowledged that he knew that some of those around him were undermining him regularly, yet he still kept them there.
There probably isn't enough space to list all of the poor decisions made by those around him, yet the Chief condoned them and allowed them to snowball. The Secore case, the Murtha case, the Brooks case, the Condon case, the Dailey case, the Foley case, the Pawtucket Street shooting matter and the list goes on. Several of these matters have already cost the City huge amounts and the potential is there for a lot more liability.
I recently had a somewhat heated, although respectable, discussion about things that were happening at HPD and I asked him to look at the facts in several of them. At one point Mayor Segarra looked at me and asked me "do you know why Chief Roberts still has a job?" , I said "no" and his response was "because of you". That was a shot, but he was right.
Shortly after Mayor Segarra took office last year, there was talk that he was going in a different direction for the leadership at HPD. I asked to meet with the Mayor and we set up a time to meet in his office. One of the things we discussed was the tenure of Chief Roberts. I asked the Mayor to give Chief Roberts a chance to prove himself without being under the control of our former felon Mayor Eddie Perez.
Eddie Perez kept Chief Roberts on a very short leash and in my opinion that kept DKR from being able to function and have a real impact on crime. Mayor Segarra made the decision to keep Chief Roberts on and I want to thank him for that, but I will admit now that it probably wasn't the best choice.
Myself, like many others, had high hopes for the Chief. Unfortunately we saw the opportunities squandered over the last year. Just the fact that the Governor and our Chief State's Attorney had to step in to create what will probably go down as one of the most effective crime fighting initiative in HPD history, the Shooting Task force, is troubling.
If Chief Roberts had surrounded himself with the right people, he would have had that initiative presented to him months ago. Instead vindictiveness and petty differences kept gun fighting ideas from moving forward when they were suggested, and I( know for a fact that they were suggested and funding was denied by the second floor brain trust
It is just sad to see an organization implode as we watch. I spoke with someone earlier today who expected the media to ask for a comment regarding the Chief's retirement. They didn't want to use that "canned" response we saw from the Mayor's press person with the usual accolades which any casual observer knows weren't true.
My advice was to say that in any organization there comes a time for change, new leadership and new direction. For HPD that time is now to begin building a once proud and admired organization.
Best of luck in your retirement Chief, I am still proud to say you are a friend. For the good of the organization the time is right, but if HPD is going to move forward, DKR's retirement is not the only one that needs to be submitted, And if they aren't submitted, I think Mayor Segarra knows what needs to be done.
John and his grandaughter Brigid on August 12, 2011
The funeral arrangements for John O'Connell have been set. The wake will be Friday from 4:00PM to 8:00PM at Sheehan Hillborn Breen Funeral Home located at 1084 New Britain Avenue, West Hartford. The funeral will be Saturday at 10 am from Saint Bridgett Church, directly across from the funeral home on New Britain Ave in the Elmwood section of West Hartford
Chief Teale was apparently in the audience today at the "Regis and Kelly Show". At the end of the opening "chat host" segment they pick the number of a winning audience member for a prize. Teale mistakenly jumped up when the number was called, thinking he had heard his number. Sorry Charlie.
Chief Teale has a tendency to take "gifts" as the transcripts in the Nolan hearings proved, but alas Chief, this time it was not meant to be. I guess some people verify what they are doing before they hand over the bag of cash, and in this case Teale was not the lucky recipient. But look at the bright side Charlie, at least you didn't have to donate this "gift" to charity after you got caught.
Sorry Charlie, maybe next time. You really can't make this stuff up.
Jeff Cohen over at WNPR is still following the life and times of Eddie Perez. It seems that the house that will potentially land Perez in jail isn't moving any time fast. Cohen is reporting that the price has dropped from $350,000 to $325,000 to now $300,000. Maybe Hartfords mill rate which was raised consistently by Perez every year of his administration could be keeping buyers away.
Click here to check out the listing for Casa Perez You can see a few photo's of the Dark Emperor granite counter tops and the steam shower that have Perez headed for his new home, courtesy of a Superior Court jury and the State of Connecticut
The Farmington Police Department, in co-operation with Winding Trails in Farmington is sponsoring a 5 mile trail race and a 5K Walk/run event on Sunday, October 16, 2011. Details for the event and registration forms are in the PDF file below.
The event will benefit the "Wounded Warriors Project" and "Save Walton Pond". It sounds like something that can meet everyone's ability level whether you are a runner or looking for a picturesque walk on the 3.1 mile course, all to benefit two good causes
Hartford has been a heavily Democratic city for many, many years. Essentially that has evolved into single party rule without any real dissenting voices. And now for those who still held to the hope that the Republican Party in Hartford would rise from the ashes once again, think again.
In recent years , the GOP in Hartford hasn't been known for making any tough choices. They remained silent throughout the Grand Jury corruption investigation into Eddie Perez. Not a word was uttered about corruption, Democrats, nothing. Part of that is probably because their own Republican Council Person, Veronica Airey-Wilson was neck deep in the scandal also.
I guess the big question for me is at what price was the deal cut to endorse the Democrats by Republican Town Chairperson Mike McGarry? McGarry who typically isn't known for his inclusiveness of minorities and gays, must now find himself in a strange position of doing exactly that. McGarry has apparently decided to endorse the openly gay Democrat and at least part of the minority representatives on the Council slate. For some reason, McGarry's endorsement does not include Shawn Wooden, Raul deJesus or David McDonald
Is it possible McGarry has seen the light and is now willing to accept all people regardless of their sexual orientation or race? Don't count on it. McGarry has apparently been bragging since primary day that he has cut a deal "with the Dem's".
And why is that? Most likely because McGarry has realized that under his leadership as Town Chair, he has allowed the Republican Party in Hartford to slide into oblivion. The GOP in Hartford probably has less than 1,700 Republican's of which maybe 500 are "prime", or regular voters who turn out to vote. McGarry knows that he doesn't even have the numbers in his own party to get a Councilperson elected.
Combine that with the "Working Families Party" operation and McGarry should rightfully be running scared. Like it or not, the "WFP" has an operation behind it, a formidable operation at that. While the GOP can just barely maintain the minimum balance in their Town Committee checking account, the WFP is well financed, much of it Union money, and they know how to run effective grassroots campaigns.
McGarry apparently cut his deal with the Democrats to try to ensure 3,000 votes for his candidates who are in real jeopardy of becoming extinct on the Council if the WFP comes on strong, as I'm sure they intend to do.
Although this last ditch effort by McGarry to save his slate raises questions, the even bigger question is to what level do these endorsements further the ideals of the Republican Party. The answer is probably none at all.
The Republican Party is typically about, or at least in places other than Hartford it is about, smaller government, reduced government spending, reducing taxes and small business support. The track record in Hartford of those McGarry is supporting and endorsing is the exact opposite. Under those he has chosen to endorse, Hartford has seen its mill rate more than double since 1999, city spending has increased over $150,000,000 annually.Numerous small businesses have been forced out of business by exorbitant taxes.
These actions have all been under the "leadership" of those very same people the Republicans are now endorsing. These are the actions of a desperate politician, Mike McGarry, and not the actions of anyone that wants to see Hartford prosper and see its residents and businesses benefit. Pure and simple it is a move by McGarry to save his own Republican "skin" by trying to undermine the potential of the WFP coming on strong in November, as well as my "independent" candidacy for Council.
I have called several members of the Hartford Republican Town Committee, and none of them know how the endorsements came about. From what several sources have told me McGarry claims to have cut the deal on primary day with Democratic Town Committee Chairperson Jean Holloway. McGarry has apparently told at least one of the "sources" that the deal was orchestrated on primary day and McGarry and Holloway committed to working together to get the Republicans elected.
I spoke with Jean Holloway, the Hartford DTC Chair, and she wouldn't deny the deal was made. She suggested that I contact McGarry to sit down and discuss the conversation that they had. She did say though "when you find those 3,000 votes, let me know and we can go look for them together".
It has to make most people wonder why the Republican's would even consider cutting such a deal, and was it one person or was the Republican Town Committee actually involved. From what I am hearing now, it seems like it was more the wheeling and dealing of McGarry. I would find it hard to believe that the Republican's can actually be supportive of the Democratic candidates when the direction of the two parties is so different.
The opportunity to rebuild the Republican Party is there, with some forward thinking leadership. It doesn't need to be a party of dinosaurs in Hartford. And no matter what party anyone belongs to, no one is well served by single party rule. It essentially ends any political debate when only one strong party has a voice and the minority party rolls over and plays dead.
It will be interesting to see if the new leadership at Connecticut Republican State Central is interested in re-gaining a voice in Connecticut's Capitol city, or is business as usual acceptable to them?
Former Hartford City Councilman John O'Connell passed away this morning at Hartford Hospital. No arrangements have been made as of this time.
According to John's wife Carol, John was re-admitted to Hartford Hospital last night and passed away this morning in the Intensive Care Unit surrounded by his wife, his son Jay and Jay's wife Erica.
John was, in my opinion, the last strong Councilperson on the Hartford City Council in recent years. John was known as the City budget "guru" and even after he left the council he was often called on for budget advice. John was always willing to help or answer questions from anyone, no matter what their political affiliation.
John was on the Council during a period when coalitions were built to get things done and he loved to tell the stories of the various alliances combining all parties to gain the majority vote. In true Irish form, John could tell stories like no one else.
John and Carol came to my home Memorial Day weekend for a cookout and John had everyone enthralled with his stories of being on Council during the Peter's years and the way they accomplished tax cuts> He even had some great stories from behind the scenes that probably aren't suitable for posting here about the actions of some other Council people and politicians.
Although John was a die-hard Republican, he lived for the "democratic" process. He lived his Republican ideals everyday, but he was at his best when it came to using democracy to get things. Whether that was a robust debate, some might have stronger terms for it, John was never one to back down from a challenge when it came to a question of right or wrong. "Robert's Rules of Order" were his best friend, although he willingly admitted at times he would stretch them to move his point along.
John takes a piece of Hartford's history with him in his passing, but he also added an awful lot to Hartford's history through his service to our community. John's presence in a room sometimes was overwhelming, especially if that room was the Hartford City Council Chambers. Whether he was sitting on the dais or in the audience after his term expired, John had no problem letting people know what he thought.
Although John's health had been failing in recent years, mentally he remained strong and was always willing to offer advice to anyone willing to ask for it or listen. In recent months John and his wife were blessed with their firstborn grandchild, Bridgette born to Jay and Erica and John couldn't have been a more proud grandfather.
No arrangements have been made yet, but I will try to post them here when available. In the mean time feel free to post any memories of John or comments here.
The Rudewicz Report was apparently delivered to the City of Hartford today according to several sources. Now the real test of transparency will begin, will the public be allowed to see the report?
Only time will tell, but since the report was funded with taxpayers money, it seems like we should be able to review the report in its entirety, good, bad or ugly.
Word is that the shooting task force started by Governor Malloy and Chief States Attorney Kevin Kane has been continued through the fall of 2012.
The numbers alone for the results being achieved by the taskforce are impressive. For the last 28 day period there have been 6 people struck by gunfire, compared to 27 victims for the same period last year. Several agencies and suburban towns are part of the taskforce in addition to HPD
The homicide numbers seem to have leveled off since the task force started, as opposed to the drastic rise we saw for the first half of the year.
Two more Hartford Police Officers will be assigned to the task force as of Sunday, a Lieutenant and a Sergeant will be re-assigned. They are being assigned to a specific portion of the task force, but I have been asked not to provide details for a few weeks. Suffice it to say, these latest additions will most likely add some more teeth to the taskforce and add even more to the operation and success of the group.
Now, if the Courts will add some serious jail time for the arrests made by the taskforce, it should continue to affect the Hartford region's gun violence as well as seeming to put a dent in the drug trade also.
I think now I can say my predictions are right, the Hartford Courant is reporting that the Market at Hartford 21 has closed....temporarily supposedly. The Courant's story can be found here
Here is my post from last week about the potential closing. It was interesting to note in the Courant's article that apparently the City of Hartford gave the Market at Hartford 21 an additional $100,000 dollars after they opened and began to struggle. That is in addition to the $300,000 they were originally given.
I would imagine many of Hartford's struggling businesses that have been here for years would like to know where the line forms for them to get their $100,000 checks.
The old saying that the wheels of justice turns slowly seem to be definitely true in this case.
In a State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC)complaint that began in 2006 against Hartford's 3rd District State Representative Minnie Gonzalez, it is now one step closer to potential criminal charges.
The case and the complaint itself are pretty well spelled out in the decision below, but the bottom line is that Gonzalez appealed the SEEC findings and the process used to reach those findings. Superior Court Judge Schuman decided against her and denied her appeal on June 23, 2011. Although he did deny the appeal and referred it back to the SEEC for further action, he did reduce the number of potential charges from 4 counts to 2.
Gonzalez has now appealed the decision in the appeal, but I am told that is a matter of procedure to potentially delay any criminal charges. Apparently the process would have been, most likely, that once the appeal was denied and sent back to the SEEC, the SEEC would then potentially refer the matter to the Office of the State's Attorney Kevin Kane for investigation and action on criminal charges.
Another one to follow, but I think we have come to expect this in Hartford. Gonzalez is no stranger to the halls of the SEEC.
The story that I never really thought was going to be a story has really become a story, and it just won't go away. This Sunday at 11:00am I will be on WFSB's "Face the State" with Dennis House.
Here is what Dennis posted on his blog "We are joined this Sunday by Channel 3′s Len Besthoff, our chief reporter on the Nappier case; Kevin Brookman, the city blogger who first broke the story, and Kevin Rennie, the Hartford Courant columnist, and former state senator, who provides a political perspective to the story."
And if you don't get your fill there, I will be a guest on WNPR radio with Colin McEnroe Monday at 1:00PM.
Imagine what will happen when I break a real story.
Forgive me for sounding skeptical, but it is easy to say you are transparent, but that old saying "actions speak louder than words" seems to ring true. Here is one such incident, and unfortunately just one of many that Mayor Segarra continues to allow to happen in his "transparent" administration.
The latest is the story of Lt. Ed Dailey and the investigation into his actions the morning of February 24, 2011 related to an incident at 16 Rockville Street in Hartford. LT. Dailey was the Lieutenant in charge of the midnight shift on February 24, 2011when officers were dispatched to the are of 16 Rockville Street on the report of an "apparent assault".
As of this date it has not been determined if there was ever an assault or was it just an individual extremely high on drugs who slipped and fell down his front porch. The so called "victim" refused to cooperate with police and no witnesses or evidence of an assault was ever found.
Sometime in early April, I had received a call that charges were being brought against Lt Dailey for a department policy violation of "Failure to supervise". I know everyone has an agenda, but the caller advised that I needed to get a copy of the investigation conducted into Dailey's actions by Captain James Bernier. They further went on to say that the report was obviously a witchhunt to try to demote Dailey and it would be clear when I read the report.
SO, I decided to submit an FOI request to the Hartford Police Department for the Dailey investigation report as well as "any and all related documents". Once again, HPD is too predictable. My FOI request was promptly met with a denial. The City claimed that it was "part of an ongoing investigation" and therefore exempt from disclosure. They forgot to read the next few words in the exemption that states "ongoing investigations" in which the "records were compiled in connection with the detection or investigation of a crime".
After the HPD denial, apparently orchestrated by Detective Ursula Wiebusch and Corporation Counsel attorney Nathalie Feola- Guerreiri, I asked Chief Daryl Roberts if there was any potential of criminal charges against Lt Dailey. He stated "absolutely not" it was "purely administrative charges". That seemed to be in direct contradiction to the denial, so on April 28, 2011 I filed an FOI complaint with the State of Connecticut.
And yes, you read that correct, the complaint was filed on April 28, 2011 and finally on September 15, 2001, it came to a hearing before FOI. That is one of the big problems with FOI complaints. As an agency that has a large caseload, combined with cuts to a staff that was already too small to handle its caseload and now being combined with two other agencies, Hartford has learned how to play the game.
The City of Hartford knows that even if the law is in my favor, or that of anyone requesting documents, a denial is no big deal. They can just deny the release of anything they don't want the public to see or that they may feel will be embarrassing. The consequences are almost non-existent. Deny the release, go to a hearing that may take 6 or 8 months to be scheduled, then wait for a hearing officers report which could be another three or four months, and then finally the hearing officers report would go before the full FOI Commission for adoption and they could be another two or three months before it gets on the FOI Commission agenda.
So all in all, the documents could take up to a year to obtain, at which point the City knows they will most likely be useless and worse case scenario, the FOI Commission might assess a fine, typically under $200.00, which in the end the City will pay anyway and there is no accountability or penalty to the individual making the unlawful decision.
The largest fine I ever obtained at FOI was the maximum fine of $1,000.00 against former Corporation Counsel John Rose, and the full FOI Commission eventually reduced that to $200.00, which the City of Hartford paid for Rose.
So anyway, back to the Dailey report. An FOI hearing was scheduled and held on Thursday September 15, 2011. The City tried a few different ploys to defend their actions, the first was by apparently forgetting to tell Chief Roberts that there was a hearing he needed to attend, or at least they felt he didn't need to be there to answer any questions.
Although the City's defense before FOI seems to hinge entirely on the Bernier investigation report , it was clear that in my FOI request, I stated "any and all documents" related to the incident and the City did not provide one page of documentation related to the request, no memo's, no incident reports, no dispatch logs...NOTHING, not one sheet of paper.
The first tactic the City's lawyers used to defend their actions was that the report was not yet finished. That seemed odd since the Corporation Counsel's Office was already involved and had scheduled disciplinary hearings against Dailey. I'm not sure how you hold a hearing for discipline without having all the facts, but I guess that is how it goes when a real estate attorney like Feola-Guerrieri decides to practice municipal or employment law.
But, interestingly enough, I had already obtained most of the documents through "alternative means" after the City refused to provide them in accordance with the FOI laws. After the claim by corporation Counsel attorney Alexandra Deeb to the hearing officer that the report was not yet complete, I think she was caught off guard when I began producing copies of the City's own documents that I had obtained through "alternative means". ( I love that term ).
The claim that the investigation was not yet complete was met with my document, below as "claimant's exhibit C". (That's me claimant). It is the Command Review form that accompanies the investigation as it is forwarded up the ladder for discipline. As you can see in the document below, Deputy Chief Scott Sansom signed off on March 4, 2011 "INVESTIGATION COMPLETE, I CONCUR WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND INFRACTION".
INVESTIGATION COMPLETE, it would seem pretty hard to then claim the report was not released because it was "incomplete" or ongoing. That Command review sheet was also signed off on the same day by Assistant Chief Brian Heavren and Chief Daryl K. Roberts. Dailey Command Review Form
When I introduced the Command Review form, it seemed to create a problem for the City's claim that the report was not complete, Deputy Chief Sansom's words seemed to pretty clear, and also very legible "Investigation complete".The City's attorney regrouped quickly though and tried a new approach.
It was the City's contention that in their view the investigation was not complete until the disciplinary process had completely run its course and Dailey was either found liable or cleared. Their point is that it wouldn't be fair to Dailey for information to get out about the charges before he was disciplined. If you read the report, and Dailey's rebuttal, it should become pretty clear to you that the last thing Captain Bernier or the City cared about was fairness for Lt. Dailey.
It also seemed less than genuine on the part of the City's attorney to grasp at that small thread, if the hearing officer bought their claim that the report was "technically" not complete, they would also have to meet those couple little words for the exemption to apply..."records were compiled in connection with the detection or investigation of a crime". They then stated on the record that criminal charges against Dailey were a possibility, though that seems to surprise everyone involved that I have spoke with.
But to point out the ridiculousness of that argument, I said that we go against that everyday in the Courts. If we went by the City's standard , no arrest report or arrest warrant would be made public until after a persons arrest was completely adjudicated through the courts with either a conviction or a dismissal, and we know that is not the case.
The City introduced a copy of a department policy, but I'm no lawyer, but I seem to recall that State Statute takes priority over any City Policy and because HPD may or may not have "a policy" that does not release them from complying with lawful state statutes.
Attorney Deeb from the Corporation Counsels office also did not seem thrilled that I had the full report and the documents I had and she tried to insinuate that Lt. Dailey had provided them to me. That was not the case, and I'm not sure what bearing that had on anything, other than the fact that it proved that the City was being less than truthful in their actions.
The FOI hearing officer also seemed to question why Chief Roberts was not there to defend his actions and those of his department. Eventually she ended the hearing, continuing it to another date and explained to the Corporation Counsel Attorney's that she expected Chief Roberts to appear or the FOI Commission would issue a subpoena to Roberts compelling him to appear. She stated that she would prefer to have Chief Robert's appear voluntarily rather than have to issue the subpoena.
The FOI Hearing Officer, Attorney Tracie Brown, explained that she would prefer the voluntay route rather than the subpoena because it might appear that the Commission was coming down on Hartford "like a hammer". Maybe it is about time that they do though, coming down on Hartford "like a hammer" might just send the message that the game playing with public documents is not going to be tolerated by FOI.
Below is the investigation report submitted by Captain Bernier, dated February 24, 2011, almost two months before I requested it through FOI, even though the City claims through its convoluted claims, that the report is incomplete.
And I know that sometimes these HPD postings may tend to become a means for bashing some through the comments, but I would ask for those reading, compare the Bernier report with Dailey's response and let me know if you think Bernier's report was fair or if Daileys response has validity. Is it proper in an investigation to leave out documents that show all of the facts or is it acceptable to only present the facts that would lead to a finding that Dailey was wrong?
A lot more to come on this, but enough typing and scanning documents for one night.
The charges against Dailey, please note there is no mention of any "criminal charges" as the City's attorneys claim there "may" be as an outcome for the investigation: Dailey Disciplne Review Form
The Department Advocates letter to Dailey detailing depertmental charges, again no mention of potential criminal charges Dailey Advocate Memo of Charges
And this is one of the reports omitted from Captain Berniers report, an interview conducted by Detective Fowler Dailey Fowler Supplement Report
And Lieutenant Dailey's response to the allegations:
The "Special Investigative Report" (SIR) into the actions of Hartford Police Officer Jill Kidik and her traffic stop of State Treasurer Denise Nappier has been completed. Although I had requested the "SIR" through an FOI request to the Hartford Police Department, they have not complied. Voice messages left for HPD spokesperson Nancy Mulroy were not returned today. Surprise Surprise. So much for that "transparency" we keep hearing about from the Segarra Administration.
But as anyone who reads this blog knows, I have a tendency to obtain documents through "alternative means", when will the City ever learn that there are good people who want to do the right thing and are able to understand the FOI statutes.
Not much new information is revealed in the report. Although I still stand by what I said earlier, Officer Kidik seemed to exercise poor common sense the way she proceeded, especially when she realized that she was dealing with the State Treasurer.
It appears that Kidik is still being made out to be the scapegoat in the matter, but the admission by a DMV spokesperson seems to show who was really at fault. Apparently the DMV didn't enter the correct motor vehicle registration into the statewide computer system until September 2, 2011, the day AFTER the incident. If DMV had properly done their job, this incident would most likely never have occurred.
Another interesting point in the report is that when the investigator, LT. Emory Hightower, interviewed Nappier she apparently never mention ed any racial aspect or made any claims that she felt the incident was racially motivated as she originally did to the media.
The finding of the report recommends retraining for Officer Kidik, but it seems like several others should be spending time in a classroom, starting with DAS and DMV personnel who are the ones who seem to be the most responsible for this mess.
And now, for your weekend reading pleasure, here is the Nappier S.I.R:
Many of you, myself included, have been awaiting the release of the outside investigation of the Hartford Police Department which has become known as the "Rudewicz Report". The lead investigator is retired HPD officer Frank Rudewicz, now an attorney with Marcum Associates.
From what sources are telling me, a draft of the report was submitted to the City of Hartford Corporation Counsel this week and the city requested a few clarifications/changes to be made in the final report. The changes were supposed to be completed quickly and from one source I am told the report is expected to be submitted most likely by Monday at the latest.
It is interesting how the timing worked out for its release after the primary. Hmmmm.
The Hartford Courant is reporting that the Market at Hartford 21 is having problems and once again cutting back their hours. Here is a link to their story
I don't think anyone will argue with the need for a downtown market if we are going to provide basic conveniences to attract downtown residents. The problem arises though in how it is operated.
I don't think it made sense for the city to throw $300,000 at a couple that was familiar with the restaurant business, but not the grocery business. The key to that operation is to attract the people through the door and then have them buy something, not walk away because the prices are too high.
I recall the first time I went in the Market, I was surprised by their extremely high prices. I usually shop at Stew Leonard's in Newington so I am used to paying a little more for quality. At least at Stew Leonard's though when you pay a little more, the freshness and quality is there.
My first trip into the Market at Hartford 21 I looked at the produce and was turned off by the moldy strawberries in the produce case and although the cuts of meat probably were great when they were fresh, they were beginning to get a tint to them that wasn't calling out for a steak on the grill.
Like I said, the secret to an operation like that is volume. If you don't have customers coming through the door, the inventory isn't moving as quickly as it should, and the proprietor's don't make any money on products they throw out when they pass their shelf life.
The other problem is quantity purchases. One of the first things I noticed was the "RAO's Pasta Sauce" at the Market. Like I said, I'm used to paying more at Stew Leonard's and I'm willing to pay the $4.99 a jar they charge. The same item at the Market was $9.99 a jar. Stew Leonard's probably buys pallets, if not a truckload of the sauce, where as the Market may buy a case or two.
The market at Hartford 21, as a single location store, charges what they have to charge to make a profit, and probably a very small profit per unit at that.
I wish that the Market can make it, but empty shelves and constant cut backs of hours doesn't paint an optimistic picture. Maybe a store like Stew Leonard's might be interested in a location in downtown Hartford for a "Stew Leonard's Express". Although the sandwiches and baked goods at the Market were good, Stew Leonard's has a reputation that is part good food and groceries and part entertainment.
Although nothing is 100%, I would think Stew Leonard's could create a snowball effect in economic development for downtown. I think the message that Stew Leonard's is willing to take a chance on Hartford would draw others in as well. And before you think I'm crazy that Stew Leonard's would want anything in Hartford, I have been told by the Redevelopment Commission Chairperson Sean Arena that the discussions, although informal, had taken place previously before the Market was given the lease and the City's loan of $300,000 to start up.
Maybe this time, if the Market doesn't make it, Stew Leonard's should be approached with the goal on the part of the City of making it happen.
THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE STRICTLY THAT, MY OPINIONS.After getting fed up with the lack of openness in Hartford City Hall, I decided to begin a program on Hartford Public Access Television called "WE THE PEOPLE". Through tips received we have been able to expose numerous issues that the Perez Administration would prefer to keep quiet.
Any information received is kept in strict confidence, feel free to e-mail me at krbrookman@earthlink.net or call me at 860-883-2297 with any information.
