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.
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35 comments:
The thing that makes me nervous is what's next? Is there going to be an appointment like with Casares and the HFD or a nationwide search?
It is all over the City that pedro and his 3 council stooges and Cloud have made an unholy deal to receive the republican endorsement in exchange for passing " certain repeals" of labor and civil rights local ordinances.Segarra,Kennedy,Aponte and Anderson are now chum in the water and no matter what they do going forward will make no difference as the entire liberal,minority and gay community will never support them.They can either run on the endorsement or reject it, it doesnt matter as they have shown their true colors and we will never support them again....
Well Kev, U, me& evbod else knew this day was coming but it was more than a little too late. Daryl shouldve left a year ago but his ego wouldnt let him. He wasnt happy until he ran HPD into the ground (one of the few things he did successfully during his tenure). Morale is at an all time low and by the end of the week, i'm sure the comments posted will reach, if not surpass those of Christine "I never met a lie I couldn't tell" Mertes. Now the question is, "Where do we go from here?". Well, we can continue on our downward spiral and promote from within, or we can follow Calixto's suggestion and launch a nationwide search (I couldn't believe he said that but Kudos Mr. Torres). If we're stuck with an internal person, they should convince CAPTAIN JOE BUYAK to reconsider (he LOVES being a street cop) then and only then will morale start swinging in the other direction. That way guys will have a leader that we respect and admire. The current administration cannot be trusted and should be forced out. Daryl gonna continue to tell people that he's leaving on his own accord but WE all know better. The proverbial jig is up and the Rudewicz report will expose most, if not all of the BS perpetrated under his watch. Daryl will be long gone and the city will still be compensating officer for the blunders that he endorsed. Instead of a retirement party, there should be a Roast, that will guarantee a SRO crowd 'cuz i'm pretty sure not too many current hpd personnel will be in attendance, myself included. Just wait and see how many people get their ranks restored and compensated over the next 6-12mos (all courtesy is of DKR). Just wait...
They need to rent a u haul truck and attach a slide into the back of it from the second floor complex. The only one that can stay is deputy cicizenki. He is a good leader of troops and has my support. Capt buyak is the best cop i ever met. He also looks great in his lime green sneakers. But seriously. The first thing to look for in a new chief is leadership and fairness across the board.
Make chris lyons advisor or chief of the dept. Please dont bring in another 2 year retired fellow who does not giv a crap. Bring in lyons. Make cizinaki assit chief. Giv sigersmith a star. Enough.
Dont worry mertes. U hav not been forgotten. Just think of all the slippery ice in the winter u can fake falling on ... A law degree out of a box of capt crunch ( not bernier )
The city hall vacum cleaner is not full yet. Two more need to be removed. Not a retirememt. A removal.
They should give the chief spot to Joe Buyak or just let him hand pick the next chief. Enough of the nonsense.
the entire liberal,minority and gay community will never support them
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Is there some particular issue(s) up for consideration that might be important to homosexuals, blacks, and Puerto Ricans? Is there some position on said issue(s)has been expressed by the Republicans that is particularly offensive to said special interest groups?
I didn't think so. Let's move forward on issues important to the City taken as a whole, for example, managing the police.
Hmmm, CAl Torres......outside search for chief.....can you say Jose Lopez Sr.?
The first thing to look for in a new chief is leadership and fairness across the board.
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Sounds fine to me. Put differently, it would be good to have someone who can direct the force for maximum bad-guy-catching efficiency and minimum in-house dishonesty and bureaucratic turmoil.
Bring it on...
The joint venture between Pedro and his allies and the republicans will be easier then most since Pedro sits on the Board of the MetroAlliance and already knows and is friendly with many Republicans.
I would suspect like in most joint ventures,and it is only natural, each side will have to "marry" eachother's pet issues.So you can surmise quite rightly that some core Democratic Party ordinances,resolutions, etc will be repealed under this new re-allignment.
Of course giving voice and higher visibility to republicans in the capitol city will hurt the election chances of chris murphy and obama in 2012.
The media is being too nice and I can’t figure out why. It’s not like DKR was good to the media, he fought every FOI ever put out, and left them to talk with Nancy “I don’t answer the phone” Mulroy. How can you have a PIO who does not communicate with the press? The media needs to tell it like it is: Roberts made such a mess that he was told he was no longer wanted as chief, and he has to go. The retirement exit was the best political move for everybody. But saying Roberts wanted to retire is like saying McKoy wanted to retire. They were both shown the door and rightly so. The Rudeiwiecz report skewers the chief and his staff and Roberts is now left to pay the toll. He deserves it.
Roberts had smart people all around him but he pushed them away (Fallon, Hadjasz, Dryfe, Hammick, Buyak) ect… He had idiots for confidants (McKoy, and staff). But the most costly move may have been putting Bernier is as the Department Advocate. Bernier lost his scope at this role and carried his personal attacks with him to captain. The truth never mattered to Bernier, he only wanted to win. In the end, the city will continue litigating through all these ridiculous discipline matters for years, spending untold amounts of cash. The seemingly endless trail of litigation left in the Bernier/McKoy wake will go on for a long time. At this point, any discipline Bernier and Roberts administered is questionable and borderline reversible, and with good reason. Bernier’s credibility has become impeachable. As an aside; how is Bernier still a Captain? Let’s tally up his costly mis-intentions since becoming Captain. There is the whole “Blow me” comment to an officer (did he really want somebody to suck him off, or is that just unprofessionalism); There is the whole Pepler issue where he ordered Pepler to divulge the details of a personal, off-duty, out of state conversation; and of course how can we forget the fraudulent Dailey investigation. This shit is already costing the city a ton money and resources. But Roberts made him Advocate, and Roberts made him Captain. Roberts made Bernier a Captain and not Sigersmith. How did that work out? fyi now Roberts is making Sonia Watson the new Advocate, I’m sure she will be real fair and impartial, just like Bernier…
The fact is HPD can’t discipline anybody until that report is released. The PD is a mess, better call Cleve and Rudy in on OT there is a ton of clean-up.
Frankly I dont give a dam who is Police Chief if the result is that the HPD is way understaffed and the City remains unsafe.
You all can lobby on this blog for this one or that one for Chief and it means a rats ass as whoever Pedro selects will be rubberstamped in by his DINO's and Republican Council cronies if he and they win the general election and Pedro will continue to oversee and micro-manage the HPD into an even more ineffective city department.The truth of the matter is that the citizens of Hartford realize that the City is unsafe,especially at night.
DKR leaving is the best thing that could happen. Morale is terrible and the department needs a true leader, someone who will bring back life to HPD. Picking an outside cheif could be just as bad. Buyak should be cheif. It's what the department needs !
So tell me, is there anything we can do to influence Segarra who the best choices would be within the department, or to possibly suggest that Hartford looks at potentially great police chiefs from outside the city? Or is this something that's out of our control as citizens?
HPD can have the fire departments new "internet fire chief", Reggie Freeman. Give him a week and a computer and he will be a certified police chief too! He has already killed the morale in the HFD.
CAPTAIN JOE BUYAK! IT'S TIME TO PUT CHILDISH THINGS AWAY AND BE THE MAN YOU ARE AND LEAD US INTO THE FUTURE!!! You're the guy we want. It's time to stop doing 34's and calls for service and lead in a different way. It's admirable that you're the first one @work every morning, but we've seen that act for the past 20+yrs. Show us something different. You have unwavering support from the rank and file (most important). Put ur BIG BOY undies on and COWBOY UP! 1Corinthians13:11
By the way daily will provale. Once roberts is gone. It will be a suck up contest to city hall. Why dont they ask the officers. Because remember. We as officers can decide if we want to be proactive or just sit there.
Make sigersmith deputy and ciinski assist. Make foley a janitor with bernier Promote people that care.
Memo to Pedro;
This past week you went to DC to introduce yourself and lobby certain Executive Department officials for money for construction.These officials ultimately report to President Obama.You met them, all the while knowing that you would betry Obama and his allies by politicing for a coalition with the Republican Party.If those executive department officials who you met this past week were called and explained that you have betrayed the Obama re-election effort by giving voice and visibility to Republicans, how much money do you think they would send to Hartford?
HiRe an outsider only one assistant chief that's it no need for inside chief complex hires, it opens up for favoritisms and back door deals.
Aren't most cities unsafe at night? Even in NYC, which is a lot safer than it used to be, wander off the main avenues at night and you are taking chances.
I think all the officers should lobby for Buyak and anyone else who thinks he deserves it. He loves hartford and I think would rally the troops. Respect and the brotherhood must come back to hartford not just the police dept. Many departments have been plagued by this same behavior. A do what a say individual is chosen by the administration and then follows the surrounding themselves with people that they would want to hang out with rather than who would be good for the job or the office. This is not a playground folks. We need some knowledge and accountability. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. The problem is not enough of the good people are fighting for this city.
Why stop at police department! Pedro needs to clean city hall. Starting with do nothing where are you Evelyn Mantilla. Now that is a seventy thousand waste of personnel. I wonder if she was of another color would she still have a job? She is stealing time like Hector. What she has a no show job?
how much money do you think they would send to Hartford?
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Not to worry. The Obamanoids are in public service not for mere power, money, or career. The Chicago outfit is in it, like our local orthodox lefty Dems (Sean Arena, et al), strictly for the Children and Social Justice. They don't stoop to petty political retribution. And, in any case, Hartford can be counted on to throw it's critical vote to Barry even as the Electoral College sends him packing. So, a.)the Obamanoids will be ok with Pedro's gross apostasy, and, b.)they will be irrelevant come 1/13.
We need a musilini to clean up hpd for a couple of years. City hall really has no clue how bad morale has been and why 90 percent of officers hate comin to work. Every part of the dept is in poor shape. We need a leader. Not some old new york retired officer. Outside is the best thing. But i so vote for deputy cizinski for chief. He is fair and i hav delt with him in the past. Very respectable. Buyak is happy where he is. Let him be.
Chris lyons for chief. Why not giv him a year to turn it around. Plus he would energize this place
Hulkamaniacs will soon rule the dept. Ohhhhhhhh yaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Please do not make heavren or horvath chief. If u do most will quit or do nothing proactive. But then again it would be too logical to listen to the 400 officers. Excluding mertes of course ....... Occonor too ...
I see a lot of support for Officer Buyak, sounds similar to the support that Mark Pawlina had years ago when FELON Segarra held to a stupid deal wherein Pawlina who had the support of the rank and file and the citizens of Hartford would not be able to apply for the permanent position (or so I'm told). If Buyak isn't interested the city should try to bring Pawlina back from the Cape.
To any and all concerned at HPD...WE HAVE NO CONTRACT, BOYS AND GIRLS. WHAT WE HAVE BARELY MANAGED TO HOLD ONTO OVER THESE PAST FEW YEARS, YOUR BELOVED MAYOR PEDRO SEGARRA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION ARE TRYING TO STRIP FROM US PIECE BY PIECE. FORGET ALL OF THE MAYOR'S EMPTY PROMISES ABOUT "TRANSPARENCY" AND FAIRNESS, HIS ADMINISTRATION DOESN'T KNOW THE MEANING OF THOSE WORDS. Until they approve our contract and put a true and deserving leader (like Joe Buyak) at the helm, I say we employ the 3 following tactics to get our points across to Pedro:
1. Immediately take the word PROACTIVE out of your vocabulary. This means no 10-59's, 10-14's or anything else self initiated, ESPECIALLY 10-34's and 10-33's; every time we write a moving violation or a parking ticket we feed the machine that is trying to strip our health benefits, deny our raises, enable a corrupt Internal Affairs Division and Corporation Counsel to take away our rights (and in some cases our Freedom...just ask Rashim Campbell or Rob Murtha) and take the food out of our children's mouths. Until we get a contract and a TRUE Chief of Police, the City shouldn't get ONE MORE RED CENT from us.
2. Take one call at a time. Pull case numbers for EVERY SINGLE CALL FOR SERVICE and let the calls back up. Do NOT clear a call for service unless your paperwork is 100 percent complete or another officer needs assistance. Completely logjam the system.
3. STOP WORKING FOR COMP. TIME! Why would any officer in his or her right mind continue to essentially work for free for an administration that does not care about the safety of it's officers or the public who live and work here? Do you ACTUALLY think that the City or the current administration really APPRECIATES you putting your life at risk for comp time? Absolutely not. Don't be fooled. It is simply a matter of dollars and cents for them. If they can get an officer to work for free, why should they bother to pay him or her? If there is a public safety issue that requires additional police attention in a particular area (such as downtown carbreaks, walkbeats, etc.) if officers continue to volunteer to work these details for comp time it is ultimately counter-productive. It is a short-term solution to the problem. The city should be addressing the root cause of the problems, which is more than likely related to under-staffing. If we continue to go the extra mile and "do more with less" like the City constantly asks us to do, we will never exhibit the strength necessary to force them to effect the desperately needed changes within our PD and our city. (Remember, these are the same administrators who arbitrarily decided that it was permissible to simply do away with certain cars on certain shifts, regardless of the fact that doing so leaves entire sections of the city with no (or at least inadequate) police coverage, and doubles the workloads of the officers in the surrounding areas, who are forced to take up the slack, unnecessarily. Also those unfilled cars mean one less officer on the street to back YOU up on your next domestic or traffic stop. Also, don't forget that these same Commanders get a hefty bonus at the end of the fiscal year in they keep their finances in the black, whatever the cost might be, even it that cost is your life or safety.
No comments on the report??? It's out. Or don't you have a copy?
anonymous 3:42pm,
Give me a chance the City only realeased it at 1:30PM, the ink is hardly dry, it is posted here now though
at anonymous 6:18 9-24-11: I've never spoken to Fire Chief Freeman but have seen him at several community events but I have spoken to people that work for him and they loved him! Also, I googled the "internet Fire Chief" and saw that he may be on the internet because he is doing stuff! It is obvious to see that he is young, black, accomplished, an outsider and educated (according to his bio) so I can see why that would affect the morale at the hartford fire dept.
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