AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN

The Hartford Police Department is currently being devastated by the high number of retirements.

Some of the retirements are good , some not so good as much of the valuable talent is being lost from all ranks and positions.

One of the retirements I find very troubling is the loss of LT. Lance Sigersmith. Most of you probably won't even recognize the name. Lance is a Hartford Police Officer that has served in just about every division and position at HPD. I don't think I have ever heard his name mentioned in a negative light, never a discipline problem,, but he has served the people of Hartford with dignity and integrity throughout his 20 year career.

Lance has served the last several years as the Supervisor of the Shooting Task Force and the Intelligence Division. Prior to that he was commander of the Major Crimes Division for several years and prior to that in Vice and Narcotics. Lance has been a mentor to many officers as they have risen through the ranks at HPD.

It is interesting to me to note that I have never heard anyone make a negative comment regarding Lance when I have mentioned his name. That is highly unusual and shows the regard his fellow officers hold him in.

Lance has a keen sense of "flying under the radar" in what to many others would be high profile assignments. His tenure as Commander of the Shooting Task Force has gone unnoticed by most, but has resulted in the high level of effectiveness due to his management and use of his resources to continue to take guns off Hartford's streets in record numbers. Sigersmith has built and nurtured a team that is highly effective under his leadership.

I first met Sigersmith almost 20 years ago when he was police officer on the street in the old "Street Crimes Unit". Since then I have watched his rise through the ranks and I find it troublesome that there is no plan to keep great officers like him in Hartford's ranks.

LT Sigersmith is a great asset to HPD and is a great father and family man.  Best of luck in your retirement, you will be missed.

Lance Sigersmith will be retiring as of October 3, 2014

DEPUTY CHIEF FORD IAD INVESTIGATION COMPLETE

On the orders of Hartford Police Chief James Rovella, an "I-FILE " a form of Internal Affairs Investigation was conducted into the behavior of Deputy Chief Rob Ford after complaints of racist comments were made by Ford, directed at an Italian officer and his family.

But as happens in many cases, you may be looking for one thing and end up uncovering something else. In the report below, there are disturbing comments made by Ford in regards to a possible rumored relationship between  Ford and a female subordinate where he(Ford) raised the issue of the female officer whether she was "sucking his d**k" or whether he was "f**cking her" as was rumored in the unit. Ford admits  in the report as to using that language. Ford claims the language used was an effort to stop the gossiping, but  it leaves him and the City extremely vulnerable to a sexual harassment claim  and is totally inappropriate for a Deputy Chief to use in front of his subordinates.

You can read the entire report for yourselves below and form your own opinion. The IAD Investigator substantiated a violation of HPD's code of conduct as a result of the complaint.

This may only be the start as there may be other code of conduct violations on the horizon for Ford after his handling  (or not handling) an  alleged assault at a recent meeting of the Greater Hartford African American Alliance meeting.

Discipline for Ford should be determined in the near future after the report is reviewed by the Departments Advoctae and ultimately reviewed by Chief Rovella

FORD IAD

HARTFORD POLICE TASER REVIEW COMPLETE

It seems that there was a quick rush to judgment after a Hartford Police Officer tasered a young black man after the suspect was involved in a melee in front of a Hartford police Officer. It seems that many, including Governor Malloy, formed immediate opinions after a 10 second video clip surfaced depicting the incident. Malloy stated publicly that he was "sickened" after viewing the clip.

The video gave all of us the opportunity to sit back and be the Monday morning quarterbacks able to hit play and rewind to our hearts content until we formed an opinion of the incident. Easy for us, but unfortunately police officers don't have the same luxury to wait and form those same opinions. They are required to make split second decisions, hopefully they make the right decision, but they are human and it doesn't always work out that way.

In the taser incident, in which details seem to be laid out more clearly in the IAD report, there is a lot more going on than a single video clip may portray.

One of the most important being the details as to what precipitated the apparent need for Detective Ware to actually take out his taser and prepare himself to use it. It wasn't a young man conducting himself in an orderly manner on a City street.

It is also interesting to note that "somehow" the entire incident had been erased from the DVR hardrive before police had a chance to review the entire video to see all of the details of the incident and not just the 10 seconds that made it to the news.

It was a young man instead, depicted by St Francis Medical Center Staff in the IAD report as being high on PCP. So high that he actually had to be sedated to keep him from injuring medical staff after his arrival at the hospital. (detailed on page 9)

The IAD report provides some very interesting details and can be read below.

The IAD report was obtained pursuant to an FOI request to HPD

TASER IAD by kevinhfd