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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

TIME FOR THE HARTFORD CITY COUNCIL TO PAY THE PIPER


Although we keep hearing about Police officers being hired, the bottom line is they aren't.  The next recruit class is tentatively scheduled to begin in April of 2014 and will probably consist of maybe 20 new officers if things go well.

Today, almost one quarter of that new class was eaten up in one day by HPD Officers  announcing they are leaving. This exodus adds up to over 100 years of cumulative experience that will be leaving the Hartford Police Department to take their training and experience to other suburban towns and agencies.

According to sources, two Deputy Chiefs will be leaving to go to the Hartford County State's Attorneys Office, a Lieutenant and two sergeants will be moving north to one of our suburban neighbors as entry level Police Officers. Two other Sergeants will be reportedly leaving soon for positions in Canton and Glastonbury and one Captain left last week for an entry position in Plymouth.

These retirements will account for almost half of the  positions of April's class, if it happens.

Sources are also telling me that there are potentially 40 more officers that are eligible to retire before the April class would start. Many of those potential retirees are Lieutenants and above and could open up a huge leadership vacuum in the Department.

If you are doing the math, which apparently the Council isn't, this will potentially add up to a net loss of the ranks of the Police Department of a violent City

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kevin,

Do you really think anyone on that Council cares about HPD? if they could eliminate the cops and get away with it they would

Anonymous said...

Im gonna miss that marty miller..... Looks like belushi, but commands and leads like william wallace. I guess nothing good lasts forever. I guess i will have to settle for that movie star pepler to look up to.

Rusty handcuffs said...

Im pissed Bones is taking off. Who besides Supercop Dep/ hpd will take his place? Kevin, it takes new guys several years to get in the game. Bones is worth 5 or six new turds. It sucks to loose some other good supervisors.

Anonymous said...

We are really losing a lot of guys. I agree with the last commenter. Miller is by far one of the best bosses we have. It's going to be scary to see what happens over the next six months with all of these guys leaving and no one to replace them. Kevin if they start a class in April 2014 that means those guys won't be on their own until January 2015. That won't even cover for all the guys who will be retiring = the ot flood gates are going to open

Anonymous said...

Hartford is a violent city with 30 murders per year,which we are right in line for this year. The Mayor and City Council are unable and frankly unwilling to provide safety for its citizens.You all have elected a Mayor and Council without the skill sets or interest in their jobs.All the Mayor and/or Wooden care about is their next step up the political ladder.

Mike Lowery said...

Hightower don't leave !!!!

Anonymous said...

Kevin,
Hartford needs to do its hiring more efficiently and the city gov needs to get serious about keeping the PD properly funded and staffed. For as long as I can remember HPD has always had a staffing issue weather major or minor point is its been there. Look at this way, If i am an applicant with excellent credentials and fluency in Spanish wanting to work for HPD. I apply and wait 2 years+ for a background to begin. Tell me why should I even bother applying when West Hartford will have me in an academy by then. This is the problem Hartford faces all the good applicants apply for HPD only to be scoped up by the suburbs because HPD waited ridiculously long. All I am saying is to make the process more efficient like the suburbs do.

Anonymous said...

Anybody who would pick HPD over any surrounding Town is out of his mind. Lower pay, constant leadership turnover, budget problems, ect.

0-60 said...

Kevin your doing a great job but the Mayor and the council don't care. As you can see in the latest city blog Ken " I can't step away from the Buffett" Kennedy still wants to get at Rovella via the take home care issue. What the city spends on the vehicle is a fraction of what it would cost in call back OT. As they say Penney wise pound foolish, and that wasn't a jab a Ken's weight.

Anonymous said...

I see that Ken "I can't step away from the Buffett" Kennedy is at it again with his ridiculous resolution in regards to the Gym at the the new PD. Really, looking at his waist line he has not seen a gym in a very long time. Hey Ken stop being DKR's puppet, that guy has a 120k + pension if he can't afford a membership at the"Y" then too bad.
Instead of proposing stupid resolutions like this try to draw business into the city so the mill rate won't hit 100 by next year. Or better yet, start takling the problems within city hall if you have a set, like the finance dept to start. You have shown you along with the rest of the misfit toys that you are utterly useless and font really have the city's best interest at heart.
Oh yeah, good going Larry on making an ass of yourself at the board of Ed meeting. As a "so called leader" you show know that's the 60's style of protest isn't going to win you any fans, just make you look bad and idiotic.

Anonymous said...

0-60, when Lts or Sgts for that matter come in for callbacks they're still clocking overtime or comp so your analysis or lack thereof is flawed. The take home car doesn't take the place of compensation for extra hours worked. Get a clue and a GED.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 909 AM.......

You should get a clue and a GED.
First of all, you should educate yourself before you post flawed information. Lieutenants get take home cars as its in our union contract, and was worked into the union contract under Chief Patrick Harnet. He initiated the districts and zones with DC Fallon and Roberts at the time. You may not know about this as I'm sure you were probably still in middle or high school at the time.

Ken Kennedy can't just pick and choose what he wants to take from what has been already agreed to in our contract. He already wants our accrued time buy out, just give up cars and next thing you know, all the raises we got this contract, which I might add no other PD got raises, he'll take away. Shoot, while ken's at it, take away the 25 year retirement and make it 30 years.

Well maybe you see the point, now I'm not a LT or a SGT, however I do know there's also something in the contract that states if a LT does not have a car, he gets a weekly stipend (additional pay). There's also something in there about getting paid for callbacks when they don't respond back in which they don't get paid now. If you have an issue with take home cars, see your union and see if you can gain something useful for yourself by advocating the elimination of take home cars from the contract and adding something you think may be beneficial. I'm sure rich holton would love to explain to you how that works. And hopefully a parking garage is built by the time you get the cars taken away so the take home cars can be parked somewhere. I'd suggest the gravel lot so they can shuttle us in from Market at Pequot!!

Anonymous said...

Just thinking... for anyone serving in the Armed Forces who miss the adrenaline rush of being ambushed by 'locals' and recently been discharged from from our Armed Forces, Hartford is the place they might want to consider as a place of employment as a Police Officer. While we offer a more pleasant climatic environment we can easily match the uncertainty of combat with local civilian and political officials. Witness our murder rate and our political officials disposal of their 'lessers'. Miss the adrenaline rush of battle? Hartford may just be the place for you!.

Hammer said...

There is nothing wrong with working at HPD!

Hammer said...

HPD is great!

Anonymous said...

Hammer are you a cheerleader? Its one thing to be a professional but your definitely drinking the kool-aid.