HARTFORD'S FINEST ?

This has been a tough posting to put together, and as you read on you will understand why, I hope. I usually attempt to be fair and get both sides of a story before I post, but in this case some of the story has been destroyed as the result of Massachusetts State law and the subject has not spoken to me, even though I have tried to reach out to him to see if there is a logical explanation. The documents I have obtained paint a very negative picture, but I tried to keep an open mind on this one and when I contacted a source at HPD to find out what the story was I was asked "to be fair".I have spent a lot of time contemplating how to handle this, since depending on the outcome the subject could essentially see his career end.

Ok, so here goes.Recently the Hartford police Academy graduated a class of recruits. Among those recruits, now a probationary Police Officers is Luis Feliciano.On June 9, 2006 Feliciano was arrested in Springfield Massachusetts for Murder. Feliciano's arrest was made based upon a security guards identification of him. The Security Guard apparently knew Feliciano from a previous encounter and led Springfield Police to his apartment. The security guard told Springfield Police that she saw individuals previously known to her fighting and then flee into an apartment. The security guard escorted police to Apartment 405, Officer Feliciano's apartment.

 When Springfield Police knocked on the door, Feliciano answered and the officer noticed one other male in the apartment. Feliciano and the other male fit the description provided by the security guard. Once Feliciano and the other male were placed in custody, a stand up field identification was done and the security guard identified Feliciano and the other male as having been involved in the fight earlier that resulted in the stabbing death of the victim. Feliciano and the other male were placed under arrest and the case was turned over to Springfield's Homicide unit. Eventually the charges against Feliciano were nolled by the Hampshire County District Attorney, which meant that they decided not to prosecute Feliciano for the murder.

Sources have told me that it appears that Feliciano was apparently at the fight where the stabbing occurred but on June 30, 2006 another individual Jose Rivera, was indicted for the actual murder and was subsequently sentenced to 5-7 years in prison. As a result of the nolle, all murder charges against Feliciano were dismissed and the records were destroyed. Except for an interesting twist, there probably would be no record available now. After the charges against Feliciano were dismissed, he applied to the Springfield Police Department to be hired as a Police Officer. Since several officers who actually responded to and investigated the homicide were still employed by Springfield, they had first hand knowledge of Feliciano and the murder.

 Once his background investigation was started, red flags were raised by the officers.Feliciano was rejected as a potential police officer for the City of Springfield. Even though the records of the case were legally destroyed, essentially clearing Feliciano's record, the City refused to hire him. That on its face value makes Feliciano sound like a victim of police officers with long memories.

Massachusetts has a Civil Service Commission which is the agency you complain to if you feel you are being treated wrong in hiring practices by a Massachusetts municipality. And here is the interesting twist. By going to the Commission, Feliciano essentially put all the facts that were destroyed as a result of the nolle back on the record as sworn testimony before the commission and part of the public record. The facts of the case are pretty basic as outlined above, except for a couple of disturbing details that might not be the best qualities for a Hartford Police Officer.

According to the Commissions decision, the Springfield Police applied for a search warrant to search Feliciano's apartment subsequent to his arrest on the murder charge According to the decision, during a search of Feliciano's apartment at 1607 Main Street, Apt 405 police officers found a clear plastic bag containing a scale, a box of plastic bags and two clear plastic bags which contained a white powdery substance and chunks of an off white substance. the report further stated "this is consistent how cocaine is packaged and stored for future sale in the City of Springfield As part of the report , officers requested an additional charge of Trafficking in Class B Cocaine.

 It appears that for some reason those charges "fell through the cracks" and no charges were ever filed against Feliciano Also troubling is that the hearing Officer found Feliciano to be less than truthful in his testimony before the Commission. Feliciano testified that Apartment 405 was not his, even though evidence of a signed lease in Feliciano's name was entered as evidence as well as his personal mail that was sent to apartment 405. The hearing officer actually wrote in his decision that Feliciano's "failure to offer truthful, forthright testimony from the outset on this issue undercut his credibility and therefore I do not credit his testimony in regards to the events that occurred on June 9 2006.

What is a Hartford Police officer if not credible and forthright. The background investigation by the Hartford Police apparently relied on a letter from The Massachusetts's District Attorney regarding the nolle for Feliciano.The Commissions decision was not released until September 20, 2012, after Feliciano graduated from the Academy.

There is no evidence or documentation at this time as to how far the investigator pursued the details of the case. On Friday October 5, 2012 Hartford Police Chief James Rovella essentially disbanded HPD's Background Unit. Backgrounds will now be conducted by Investigators from the Internal Affairs Division. When asked about the Investigation, Chief Rovella told me that he has requested a full Investigation of the facts by Lt. Rob Davis and the Internal Affairs Division. At the conclusion of that investigation, Chief Rovella says that appropriate action will be taken if necessary. The full report by the Civil Service Commission is below.

 

And as I mentioned in the beginning, attempts to get Officer Feliciano's version of the events were unsuccessful

> Feliciano Luis 092012[1]