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Saturday, June 30, 2012

"I WILL ANNOUNCE A POLICE CHIEF BY JULY 4TH"

The above comment was made by Hartford's Mayor Pedro Segarra in front of the television cameras as he walked Albany Avenue during his "On The Beat "tour as he reacted to a violent weekend recently.

The fourth of July is four days away and sources are telling me that several roadblocks may be in the way of naming a permanenet Chief.

Although Segarra has told me and others that acting Chief James Rovella is "his guy", the Wasserman Group apparently has a different view. The Wasserman Group, run by Robert Wasserman was contracted by the City of Hartford to conduct a national search for a new Chief at an estimated cost in excess of $50,000 dollars to the taxpayers of Hartford.

The question has been asked all along by myself and others why a national search was necessary when it appears that the perfect fit for Hartford at this point in time is already in place in acting Chief James Rovella. Through the efforts of Governor Malloy , Chief States Attorney Kevin Kane and the efforts of the Shooting Task Force that they formed, Rovella's results have been impressive.

Violent crime is now at a 5 year low according to HPD statistics and may even be better but long range numbers are not available at this time.Those numbers aren't happening by accident. Out of the nine homicides recorded so far this year. arrests have been made in 7 of the 9. That is also an impressive number.

But back to the Wasserman Group. Sources are also telling me that the number one pick for Hartford's next Chief is the embattled Public Safety Director for Indianapolis Indiana Frank Straub.
Straub , a former Deputy Commissioner for NYPD  brings flashbacks for me to former Chief Patrick Harnett who arrived in Hartford 12 years after his retirement from NYPD.

Harnett was never a good fit for Hartford or its residents and Straub may mean more of the same. Internet comments I have found paint a less than flattering picture of Wassermans guy. One Indianapolis blogger commented "Straub, as public safety director for Indianapolis -- admittedly, an embattled one, with spurs in shreds sometimes -- was clearly not the right guy for the job. He could crow with the best, but the fact that he has resigned effective Aug. 1 shows us he's a guy who does not deliver (on his pledge, or threat, to clean up our police department"


News  accounts claim that Straub has resigned as Public Safety Director for Indianapolis effective August 1st . Whether that resignation was vouluntary or forced is open to discussion but there seem to be serval clouds hanging over Straub and his tenure at IMPD. First is the fact his agency is reported to be running as much as a $30 million dollar deficit for this year, hardly something Hartford could afford. At HPD every penny is being counted to continue to provide proper police services to the communtiy.

 News accounts also claim that Straub, after being hired in Indianapolis renovated the Office Suite he occupied at a cost of almost $1million dollars and then took a sworn police officer off the streets to act as his chauffeur.

There was also criticism of a no bid contract Straub assigned to one of his former bosses, former NYPD Commissioner Willam Bratton to investigate corruption in IMPD imternal Affairs Division.  Bratton and other former NYPD higher-ups seem to have built a fraternity of sorts for themeselves where they hire each other in Departments they take over to continue their consultant careers. Former HPD Chief Patrick Harnett was also part of the Bratton fraternity, landing lucrative consulting contracts across the Country.

More troubling though are media accounts of the mishandling of evidence in a DUI accident
involving one of Straub's IMPD officers's in which a motorcyclist was killed by the officer driving drunk. TO READ MORE ON STRAUB FROM THE INDIANAPOLIS NBC TELEVISION AFFILIATE, CLICK HERE

Sources are also telling me that Straub is not a certified Police Officer, never was and only attended a Fire Academy training program in White Plains New York when he was the Public Safety Director there.

It seems as though the right choice for Chief is already here , Mr. Mayor. pay the balance to the Wasserman Group with the taxpayers thanks and make the announcement and let's move on.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

it sounds like Straub is exactly what Hartford needs another NYPD hack with no street experience , unable to manage a budget and mired in corruption.Should be great for morale. Money well spent by Panagore to his buddies at the Wasserman Group, maybe now they should do an analysis on restructuring HPD, how about it Dave, what is your cut?

The Rock said...

I bet you July 4th will come and go and there will be no permenate Chief named. Convient that Pedro chose that date, since when is City Hall open on a Holiday. Maybe, after Pedro gets done "Dancing without the Stars " at the libary he can continue with his game of sharades and still pretend to be the Mayor of the Capital City.
If this is the best this so called search has revealed then as the Whatwerman oops typo Wasserman group goes ask for a full refund. How in any reputable search can you miss this huge ink spot on this " professional hacks" resume. I would hate to see who else is in their top three. If they are worried about their reputation and this is what they produced they should be asamed and scrap the whole process and refund any and all monies they recived from the city.

HPD just got rid of an idiot like this one and still needs to get rid of a few more. If the city were to back door Chief Rovella and appoint this dope than this would fit the classc definition of insanity.

Lean from your mistakes and don't repeat the same ones from your past and it sounds like that's what would happen if this non certified cop, wana be firefighter, over spender, cook the books, cover up, jabronia is selected.

If the right choice is not made then there is going to be a whole lot of smack down going on, from the Governors office, the DTC, the business community and from the PD.

Pedro stop this sharade and sham of. Selection process and just appoint Rovella and move onto trying to grow and make the city more attractive for business and residents, this doesn't help at all.

Macho Man said...

Morale is actually geting better with rovella in charge. I feel less stress when i come to work. What is the big deal with just giving the spot to rovella? Oh ya, politics, and kick backs, etc.
Now is the time for the Mayor to make a decision. ( we all know you want a judge spot, but until then , try and act like a strong mayor )

Anonymous said...

Horvath for Chief!!!!!

Anonymous said...

The Uhaul trucks are starting their engines.....Plenty of volunteers to help clean out the chief complex.
Some others need to leave too.

Anonymous said...

Why is the booking B Squad Sgt allowed to work while taking heavy doses of medication? The guy is drowling and can barely move. What a safety issue. Maybe Channel 3 will do a story and changes will happen.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Mayor. When picking a leader of any organization moral is a huge factor. All the credentials and national searches in the world will not make up for poor moral. It's hard to get any work out of a miserable employee in any field.

Who knows how someone else will work out as the Chief. We can only speculate, no one knows for sure. However, what we do know is except for the few command staff members that have been useless and fear for their jobs the majority of the cops are happy with Chief Rovella. At least everyone I talk to likes him and moral seems to be improving.

The conditions guys aren't too happy right now but that's because the Chief said they can no longer run around like commandos and have to focus more on community policing. A change I think makes sense for the city. The Shooting Task force speaks highly of him. One detective sad to me "he's the kind of boss you want to work hard for and get results." Don't believe me ask the cops yourself.

Chief Rovella is doing a good job that will only improve if he's given the full position.

- Patrol Officer

Anonymous said...

There are reasons for everything. I have the utmost confidence that Mayor Segarra will do the right thing when it comes to appointing Rovella. He 100% supports the men and women of the Hartford Police Department. The new contract should shows that. I stand behind Mayor Segarra and have the utmost confidence and respect for him.

Sam the Clam said...

I hope they don't pick another Harnette type Chief. Nothing good came out of that costly venture. This fool from Indy is not a cop. This Dept. needs leadership, not another good test taker.

(real leader, like Joe Buyak ) I would follow that man through fire!!!!!

Anonymous said...

The booking B Squad Sgt. has a little problem, better call EAP.....before someone gets hurt in booking....Just sayin...

Anonymous said...

Horvath For Chief!!!!!! A vote for Horvath is a vote for pedro...

Channel 2 news said...

When is that 24 geting signed for shell casings being tossed out to go and work a J?

Anonymous said...

That Sgt. being spoked of was and has always been terrified of the streets. All the mind numbing meds he takes began the day he lost a certain election and he was forced to put a uniform back on since his promise of going to PAL if he ever lost the election never materialized. Zero!!!!

Anonymous said...

Kevin, FUCK YOU!

Anonymous said...

Rovella is an alright guy but out of a nationwide search he is still the number one pick. I don't think so. He couldn't pass the sergeants test (twice), and has no real command experience. Anyone who has seen his "chiefing" knows he is in way over his head. He is a political appointee and nothing else.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

In over his head? violent crime is at a 5 year low, 7 out of this years 9 homicides have been solved , various initiatives have been started or enhanced and HPD is actually being run by a leader, sounds like a good start so far.

Anonymous said...

Horvath got 99 on all his promotion exams, while roberts got in the mid 50s. Just sayin.....

Anonymous said...

Time is ticking Mr. Mayor, what are you going to do ??????

Anonymous said...

Rovella for Chief. Joe Buyak for chief of patrol. Sigersmith for Chief of Detectives.. That is my wish list.

(Heavren can stay, but keep him locked in his office)

Anonymous said...

Give Rovela the chance and if he fails,blame Segarra. Darrel Roberts never passed the Sgts exam and look where he ended up. All because that criminal terd Eddie Perez wanted the black vote. Otherwise it probably would have been Fallon.

And lets be honest, patrol never deals with the Chief in any way so its not like patrolmen will see the difference anyway. Remember, at the HPD crap flows down to patrol no matter who has the stars.

And as for Channel 2 News, stop being a punk. If you dont like that Officer, approach him and voice your opinion. Yeah right, you'll just hide in a blog. I'm sure the process is running its course and whatever happens will happen.

The current command staff is a joke and the Chiefs complex is ripe with his own agenda and not for the actual Department, especially Patrol. To get a day off from our stressful job here and there is like an act of congress and nobody upstairs gives a flyin f%#!

Anonymous said...

Kevin,
Hope all is well.
someone better watch the booking sgt. --he keeps falling asleep on duty.

Straub is a good man & a good dicipinarian
which is what our department needs. Rovella never passed 2 sgt exams.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

anonymous 1:55am

strong words from an anonymous coward. I contemplated not putting the comment up but I decided to let people see what is out there. I guess I touched a nerve with someone, maybe a consultant doing a search for a police chief or an unqualified candidate?


sorry mom:)

James Brown (good god) said...

Dates come and go and this one has too. I guess it's typical of the Mayor say one thing do another. Word of advise Pedro next time you give yourself a deadline and announce it in the press stick to it, you'll have more credibility. Oh yeah politicians don't need credibility they just need votes.

Mega Machine said...

What the Rovella haters are missing is the fact that the Mayor can appoint/select anyone he wants, so it's up to Pedro and what kind of legacy he wants to leave behind.

Will he be know as a Mayor who reduced crime and made the city more viable for business and residential growth or a Mayor like the one before him who were just in for themselves, their friends and not the residents, a poverty pimp.

Iam leaning to the prior for the city's sake. So, in the end I believe Pedro will make the right decision, yeah it may take longer than we want but the result in the end is favorable to all parties, look at the Police contract.

The only thing I would suggest to the Mayor is he needs to clear out hs cabinet, there are a few individuals that have surpassed their shelf life. Clear up any outstanding union contracts and get this Chief thing put behind you and move the city forward.

Anonymous said...

The c squad booking Sgt. also needs several man hours of EAP attention also.

The Cleavland Brown Show said...

Transparency Pedro! Why haven't you named Rovella publicly yet as you promised some type of release on 7/4/12.

Thanks Pedro you have shown your true American Independance!

Anonymous said...

If the Mayor has the full authority to appoint the Police Chief regardless of the consulting companies choice, then so be it. Name your Chief Mr. Mayor. Stop the charade of a national search. Hiring this firm to do a national search for the amount of 50k in taxpayers dollars was a very parochial decision. It is widely known who your choice is. Why not stand firm and live or die by your decision. What is the point of this firms involvement if "your Guy" Rovella is appointed the position. Grow a set of balls, make you guy and get on with it. Please stop wasting taxpayer dollars, candidates time, and soiling your reputation. Your actions, Mr.Mayor are a disgrace. You are supposed to be an effective and effcient leader, yet you allowed this sharade to occur and continue at a cost to peoples time and money. You played this one all wrong. Rookie mistake that is costly.

From the outside looking in said...

This blows my mind. It seems like the Mayor only likes to keep certain people happy-but these people always seem to be the ones that EVERYONE hates. Why not start with the people that matter. Your personal b.......ch does not need a raise. You're already paying him too much-FYI. Split that raise up between the boys and girls who make sure your a...s doesn't get kicked while you "walk the beat" after a violent weekend. Make them happy..morale goes up..AKA they work harder for you because they WANT TO..which makes the community happy...etc. It's a domino effect. I learned that in kindergarten. Did you graduate elementary school, Mr. Mayor...? oh P.S. Everyone with a brain knows that politicians are rotten-but really, to publicly promise a chief by July 4th, and then just let it pass like you never opened your mouth? Don't insult "your" city like that. Who do you think you are?? And please, a word to the wise before you answer that question.... whatever you're thinking, I hope it's definition doesn't include "leader"......

Anonymous said...

From the outside looking in;
Did you ever graduate from kindergarten? Do you know what eddie's b...ch nmandi made? Split up the money for the boys and girls who make the beat safe for Pedro when he walks it after a violent weekend? Num nuts......I really hope your not HPD. If you are, your clueless. Didn't Mister Mayor already make the boys and girls happy with the best contract of any department in the state? 14% raise not to mention the rest........and your still bitching! Who do you think YOU are? State Police have been offered zero the first three years then -2 and a -3...... Minus 5%. No departments are getting raises. Your post has gotta to be the dumbest post I've ever seen. This is the only mayor I have seen that actually cares about the boys and girls of HPD. He supports the PD, he makes a point to address every officer he comes across, great contract when everyone else is going to arbitration, concerned about an aging fleet, so he gave more money the PD has ever seen for 70 new cars. What more do you want? If you are HPD, you should strongly consider packing your bags and going to another department, then you will probably have a legitimate complaint.

The Rock said...

Let's see, Straub never been a Cop and over spends, corruption, and then we have Bradley Jr. Arrested for DUI and assault on a police officer. Two great choices to be finalist for the Chiefs job. Great job by the Wasserman Group, Pedro get your money back or stop payment on the Check. Or better yet call HPD because you just got robbed.