IS IT WORTH IT?

I think I have developed thick skin when it comes to dealing with comments on the blog ( as I am sure others who have been the subject of comments have had to do also). As I approach one million hits on the blog, some days I ask myself "is it worth it"? Then I think about the change and the people that have been helped by this blog, and I sit down and write another blog posting.

The comments usually don't get to me, but one that was submitted this morning was aggravating because I know the other side of the story. I don't usually respond through a  posting to a comment, but I think this one deserves it.

Here is the posting submitted this morning, I am pretty sure I have figured out the commenters identity, which I won't post the name, but in the end, make your own conclusions. The grammatical errors and spelling mistakes are being left as submitted:

Brookman I think you have uncovered another problem at HPD. Seems in your drive to become the "Guy in the know" by all your unconventional ways you have shown that officers are violating standard operating proceedures by handing you police reports outside the FOI and records handling policies. At times you have obtained reports, such as in the Bond Street murder, that have not been redacted.

I am sure a great investigator like yourself or the guy on the second floor who gives the reports to you have an understanding of what can happen to an On Going inveatigation when all the information developed is just handed out for anyone to view.

I urge you to use the proper channels before you really mess up a case by putting things on your blog for all to see. I am sure you have never thought of that as an issue because you think your above it all.

You already have a radio and a odd thought that you are part of the police delartment with free rain to run around and tell everyone about how many times you meet the police chief and such, but the rank and file are pretty disgusted with you. Just the other day I even heard officer Secore say that he was upset that you were his friend because of the way he is now viewed at the department.

Brookman you point a spot light on many problems in Hartford and that is good, just don't be the guy who screws up a case and helps a bad guy get away with murder!

I know you think your to smart for that, but you came pretty close on Bond Street. We all know who your unconventional means are so stop being a braggard!

Signed
A watchfull eye on Deep Throat

The Bond Street case the commenter mentions is most likely the catalyst for this rant.

The writer mentions that I came close to compromising a potential homicide on Bond Street. This started when I became aware of the kidnapping report earlier in the day on Bond Street, I obtained a copy of the incident report and along with WFSB reporter Matt Campbell, went to the Bond Street scene. The officers involved earlier in the day took all of the proper steps according to the report, The initial responding officer Meg Cirigliano, took the complaint and appears to follow all of the proper steps, the suspect description was broadcast by radio and she then notified her supervisor, Sergeant Dixon Vega and he responded to the scene. Vega then notified his supervisor Lt. Robert Allan. Officer Cirigliano even went so far as trying to “ping’ the victims phone in an attempt to get a physical location for him. According to numerous sources , that is where it ended.

When myself and Campbell met up at what was or should have been treated like a crime scene, we were both surprised by the lack of any Police presence. No yellow tape, not even on Police Officer on scene. It was even more interesting as witnesses began coming out of their homes and giving us very detailed accounts of what had happened. One witness even pointed out the victim’s car which was parked directly in front of the Bond Street address he had been abducted from at gunpoint.

One witness gave us a very detailed description of the car and the female and how she put the gun into the victims face before the car raced off. I finally asked one of the witnesses if they had given their statements to the Police yet. They all replied no. Something wasn’t right here. A kidnapping that eventually resulted in a homicide and the area wasn’t even treated like a crime scene?

Witnesses with critical details right down to specific items the kidnappers were wearing approached us and no one was there from HPD. I called Lt Foley and asked him why it wasn’t being treated like a crime scene. I think I caught him off guard with the question. He was at the Portland homicide scene I believe and apparently thought the Bond Street scene was being handled. I called Sgt. Spell from the Shooting Task Force and asked if they were involved in the case. No, it had apparently been assigned to Major Crimes. 

Between the two calls to Foley and Spell, within minutes an HPD Supervisor followed by several Patrol Units arrived on the scene, lights and sirens,. The yellow tape went up and finally it was treated as a crime scene, probably about four hours too late for any evidentiary value.

Someone dropped the ball and it was probably the commenter  who was claiming I potentially compromised his case.

The truth is that this case was compromised from the moment  someone made the decision not to get up from their desk and respond to a kidnapping scene.

One supervisor who eventually responded asked what I knew and I had told them about the witnesses and the details I had been told. They made the comment “how sad is this, I am getting  my briefing from a blogger and not Major Crimes”. 

The fact is that Campbell and myself were given details by witnesses who had been allowed to slip through the cracks  when no one took the time to come out and follow leads. Lt Foley asked us not to reveal certain details and we both agreed so as not to compromise the investigation in any way. I never posted the report because it wasn’t needed and quite frankly I figured the problem and questions regarding the crime scene would cause more problems.

To address a couple other items: Yes I do talk regularly with Chief Rovella, and these are conversations you will never see in a blog post. Chief Rovella knows that and we do talk quite openly about many issues. I enjoy our conversations because the Chief is a man of vision and you can’t help but learn when you spend a little time with him. Whether it is his philosophies on drug enforcement, staffing, budgets or even David Kennedy’s books, I can spend hours talking, but more importantly listening to the Chief.

And I don’t need to go about “bragging” about the time I am fortunate to spend with the Chief because the reality is that as soon as Chief Rovella meets me in the lobby, the text messages start flying. “The Chief just let Brookman in, what’s going on?” Yes, as juvenile as that seems the word travels quick.

The reference to the “guy on the second floor” Is the Police Department’s Public Information Officer LT. Brian Foley. Lt Foley has not “leaked” me any information and every report I have posted has been accompanied by an appropriate FOI request or is e-mailed to me and probably thirty or forty other media outlets at the same time. If I ask for an incident report that I learned about first, I submit an FOI request to Foley.

Lt Foley has been a breath of fresh air when it comes to the distribution of public information, he is available 24 hours a day, has established a very professional reputation with the media, and he clearly gets “It” when it comes to transparency

As far as redactions, brush up on your FOI statutes. There is very little than can be legally redacted from police Incident reports except specific things like social security number, operator’s number or other things that could maybe be used for identity theft. Names of juveniles and sexual assault victims should also be redacted. I am not sure what information you think should have been redacted from any reports including the Bond Street report, but you are probably wrong.

As far as when the report is released or what is released is entirely up to the agency releasing it. The statutes list exemptions that may be claimed, but doesn’t require an exemption to be claimed in any case. An agency may claim that release could compromise an ongoing criminal investigation, but the fact that a report covers an ongoing criminal investigation doesn’t mean it can’t be released if the agency finds no reason not to release it.

As far as the old days of HPD where it was a fight to get information , get used to the change. There is a new Chief that understands his responsibility to maintaining the public trust by being transparent and the doors to the information bunker have been opened wide. Everything you do is open to public scrutiny.

Your comment about the Officer who wishes to deny being my friend is fine, That Officer will probably also tell you that I am one of the driving forces behind him actually getting his job back, and I know where I stand with him. He has to survive there in a childish atmosphere and it is about survival. I get that.

Maybe if you had gotten off your butt and went to a kidnapping scene, you wouldn’t have to be protecting that same butt now.

I stand behind what I have done, I would never compromise an investigation and I value my relationships with Chief Rovella, LT. Foley and many others at HPD that know how to act like adults and make Hartford a safer place and do their jobs well day in and day out