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Saturday, February 27, 2016

A RESPONSE TO ANOTHER COMMENT

This past week I met someone that said they are a regular reader of the blog, but they just can't read the comments.

I get that. The comments are what keeps a lot of people coming back. Sometimes they are valid, sometimes helpful and well thought out,sometimes quite entertaining and others are just downright nasty. If only you could see some of those I don't allow through.

If any one has any suggestions for a better way to administer the comments to improve the blog, I am listening.

This afternoon I received an anonymous comment regarding the video of Judge Vanda  Evans prior to her sentencing of a racist, abusive cop.

The comment read:

Anonymous said...
I too was galvanized by the judge's oratory. This 20 minute speech which is what it was, should be used in every police academy throughout the nation. It won't but it should. The biggest mistake that honest, humble, hard-working police do in the course of their job, is to protect their fellow officers when one commits an aggression that anyone else would be arrested for and charged.

And please Mr Brookman, don't think for one moment that we don't have this problem here in Hartford. We do. Don't white-wash, sort of speak. Even I, as a white man, have found myself in police situations that could have too easily gone in a negative direction save for my friendliness and non-threatening behavior and most importantly, my WHITENESS.

I am sometimes optimistic and at other times, pessimistic, depending on the situation. With regard to police misconduct, I am more pessimistic in the ability of police organizations to weed out the poor choices. Part of the problem is the police unions, all of which should be rendered obsolete and banned. So, as I meet a police on any level, my mind automatically begins a selection process; good police and human or pig. And unfortunately, there remain plenty of pigs in Hartford. You even find them on these boards.

Until the pigs are pulled from the poke,, things won't change. Yes, we have a dedicated group here in Hartford and am comforted by their presence. And I do my best to assist reporting a crime when possible. But it's those damn pigs that are only fired after committing a humongous crime. Get rid of the pigs and allow all of us the chance to dismiss our cynicism.

That judge's soliloquy did bring tears to my eyes. It was an unusual and lengthy rebuke from the bench. Praise to her wisdom. Maybe it resonated somewhere in the depths of that officer. I hope part of his after prison sentence will be to do community volunteering for a length of time. And if it is not mandated, then he should do it anyways for his own redemption.

My response:
Most of us don't have the greatest impression of our Police Officer's.  One of the main reasons for that is we vary rarely meet or interact with police officer's under warm and fuzzy circumstances. You have been a victim of a crime, you have had a motor vehicle accident, you are getting pulled over for a traffic ticket. Or sometimes even worse.
Most people don't avail themselves of the chance to get to know a police officer and see what makes them tick. Work with your CSO at an NRZ meeting and see the response you get. It is what the Community Oriented Policing program is all about.

And we have all been there. How many Hartford residents have had a police officer ask them why  they stay  in Hartford ? How many of us have reported a break in to our cars and have a police officer comment "what do you expect, you live in Hartford"
I know our system isn't perfect, but we have a great foundation to build on.  Last year I first exposed a situation here of a Hartford officer that was drunk at Foxwood's Casino yelling the "N" word. Chief Rovella promptly responded to the incident and the officer was terminated. Will the termination  hold up if challenged? Who knows. But anything short of termination would definitely send the wrong message. How is the PD supposed to say they want and need to build bridges to the community if they  knowingly deploy racist cops are  in our neighborhoods.

And the fact that the officer was drunk is no excuse. All his excessive alcohol use did was provide the lubricant for his true beliefs and feelings to come to the surface. And to address your comment "Part of the problem is the police unions" How much do you think the Union will eventually spend on attorney';s fees and hearings to get a racist cop rehired? Unions overall have a purpose. If the City was putting in dangerous vehicles with bald tires as the Judge mentioned in her comments, that is fair game for the Union to address, keeping their members safe. To protect bad employees, many of them who are far from the caliber of the rest of their hard working decent members is wrong, and is indicative of what many unions have evolved into.
I think you are wrong in your assumption that Hartford Officers are only fired after committing a humongous crime. I think you need to look at the discipline record of Chief Rovella. Much of the wrong doing by Hartford Officers  has been exposed first here. The lobster stealing officer, the officer involved in a murder investigation in Springfield and then expanded into interstate commerce by stealing from Walmart while working,  the racist cop who was not afraid to tell cops at Foxwood's that his family used to own slaves and then yelling the "N" word at the cops.
 None of those are proud moments for a Police Chief to deal with, but I think the measure is how the Chief deals with them. It would be easy to ignore such incidents , but that only creates more problems, and I have faith Chief Rovella can deal with the heat of doing the right thing when confronted with the hard choices.

I would ask for two things. First off, try to take the time and get to know a police officer you might be surprised when you see the human side of what they deal with. Second, , try a different word than pig and realize we are very lucky in Hartford to have the men and women protecting our City. It might not be perfect, but we have a direct role also in the success or failure.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

The point of my comment is that, though I recognize that there are many good officers, it's the bad ones, even if only rude and not only overly aggressive, that puts a bad feeling about the whole force. that is the point that I am making. don't single out that I used that warm endearing word, "pig," to discredit my points.

Like the time when I wanted to have a report on a stolen bike and my arm was in a cast and I asked an officer on Maple Avenue and responded in a rude manner as if I had the audacity to bring him such unimportant case. Granted, when I told this story to another officer, he wanted the person's name.

Don't make me to be the bad guy here. I think I mentioned there are plenty of good officers around. Maybe my comments were expressed toward police in general not only Hartford. I think I mixed my opinions to address Hartford as well as police departments in general.I still maintain the fact that unions will defend a rogue officer ad infinitum. And if defending an obviously rogue officer is their mandate, and for other reasons, then I feel that the union should be dismantled.

May I ask you Mr. Brookman, what happened to that thieving officer who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of ammo? Busted yet or is he being protected by the blue line? Perhaps you have the answer I just haven't read it yet.

My mother told me when I was a child that when she was young, that people used to fear the police. I have always thought about how anyone can respect the person they fear. So I will leave you with this thought. I recognize that most officers in Hartford are good and dedicated. But at the same time, when you encounter one who isn't, it gives one pause. Capici? And BTW unless you think otherwise, I would help and officer if he was in trouble.

Anonymous said...

You're assuming the cops treated you differently because you're white. I think being polite and non-threatening has far more to do with how you're treated than the color of your skin.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

I agree. You get what you give. A bad attitude is often met with the same in return

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

I apologize if you think I was trying to discredit you., The reason I responded to your comment the way I did is because I think you made many valid points, and I wanted people to see them.

I am as frustrated as you are in the delay over the investigation into the alleged theft by the former range officer. I have been pushing on this for well over a year now. The last I was told is that it has become complicated because "outside" agencies are now involved in the investigation. I would hope that a couple hundred thousand dollars in missing ammunition would draw the attention of numerous outside agencies , including ATF and the FBI. The "Blue Line" was the reason the investigation was started and wasn 't covered up originally.

Anonymous said...

Kevin, you put a story and a digital feed about a rogue cop being expectedly punished for a crime and how do you exoect anyone to react. You incite then complain when someone responds strongly and emotionally.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

where do you see that I complained? I agree with most of the points that were made.

Anonymous said...

Kevin in a previous post you spoke of "outside agencies" involved in the range investigation. As an ia sergeant id like to know which ones? Because our office got told leave it alone!!!! It's ridiculous and undermines our department. I'd like it to be released as much as you!! That way you can see how badly our hands were tied during the investigation!!!

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

8:18PM

I have FOI'd that report on several occasions and each time I am being told it isn't complete yet. Recently when I pushed again for it, I was told that it has become complicated and outside agencies are involved. I am not sure, because I know other officer's involved in the investigation have been disciplined, which seems unusual to me that anyone would be disciplined if the IAD has not officially been completed. I appreciate your info, and I need to start pushing again to get to the bottom of this. I guess, It seems odd that this could drag on so long.

Anonymous said...

It's not odd at all, it's simply your standard cover up. No justice no peace! Tishay was arrested immediately for 27,000! Lou steals 200,000 and gets his full pension, 7 new cars, a new cabin in Maine and like ten million rounds of ammo! I want to know what body he helped Rovella hide!!

Anonymous said...

Wow

Anonymous said...

Only the chief has the authority to tell IAD to investigate or not investigate an incident if what that IAD sergeant is saying is true that's very scary the tax paying citizens have a right to know what the status of the Lou Crabtree incident is an will there be criminal charges filed an most importantly where did all those bullets end up lets be honest here no criminal with a criminal record can walk into a gun shop an buy bullets!!!

Anonymous said...

@2:47 and @2:56

Sometimes just sometimes, white = right.

Here is another angle to consider and it is much more difficult to qualify. We can postulate or not that people of color have been oppressed for 400 years. Well, of course that is not true today. So many cause need to be explained. We gave up buying meat and veggies in the markets and picking up a discount on a newly arrived African slave long ago. Yes, and the good ole boy networks while still in place, are becoming fewer.

Here is where I want to go; most black folks as do some white folks, understand the history of oppression. The sheriff of the old south upheld the law by day but was the clan leader at night. Try to keep those nightmares in your head all your life then get stopped by a patrol cop for not using a turn signal. And suddenly he or she is confronted with all the past historic demons in a flick of a second. And maybe an attitude, a fear mixed with anxiety arises on the part of the driver. Police should have training enough to understand that we in this country have a terrible history of oppression and that sometimes, the long ago effects can continue to express itself in the minds of those who were oppressed and I don't think it matters whether the person is educated or not. It is important to first, understand that in our multi racial society, that it is important to be flexible yes, maybe, don't take an attitude so personally. So no Kevin, you are mistaken when you and I think, an officer stated that no attitude brings a better outcome. I say, include a class in the police academy in comady as a way to defuse a situation. Instead, cadets I believe are trained to us overwhelming force to control any situation. Tell that to the mother with kids in her car when stopped on the express way and panicked as she drove off in a hail of police bullets. I will end here or I will get nasty again and you don't want me to get nasty again.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

to 8:18PM.

If you are willing, please contact me confidentially so I can get more specifics from you. I am concerned also by the delay in the release of this investigation. I was told today that the report is currently in Command review and being read by a Deputy Chief. If you do choose to contact me, please be sure not to use a City cellphone or a City extension or City e-mail, they can all be traced back to the user.

Anonymous said...

Nothing will happen with the missing ammo. It ties in to many people that are still employed by the department as well as people outside the department. In the past I've also mentioned Paul West. Supposedly he let a criminal out of a car that had assaulted a person and supposedly this was on video. If this is true why has nothing been done? Can you please look into this. This guy has gotten and continues to get away with shenanigans.