The charges resulted after Spell's alleged involvement in an incident which occurred on June 4, 2016. The warrant application, prepared by CSP Sgt. Brian L. Narkewicz is below. Please take a few minutes to read the 9 page affidavit and make your own determination as to who was at fault Don't stop at section 2, read the entire application .
Now I know that some days it seems like it is open season on our police officers, and I have no problem holding police officers accountable for their actions, and I have done it numerous times on this blog.. I am fully aware that there are some bad police officers out there, probably in much smaller numbers than the mainstream media would lead us to believe.
Let me say for the record, Sean Spell is not one of those bad officers. I would hate to think what our violent crime numbers in Hartford would be like without officers like Sean Spell and others out there in our neighborhoods. I doubt anyone could quantify the amount of violent crime that has been prevented over the last twenty five years through his efforts and the efforts of other officers he has mentored.
Police work, by its very nature is not always pretty. Add onto that dealing with people who by their very own admission were high on PCP, and Hartford Hospital medical records confirmed that . Hartford Hospital , according to Sgt. Narkewicz, verified the presence of cocaine, opiates, PCP, and cannabinoid in Diaz's system. Do you think that drug cocktail might even cause a fine citizen to act a little stupid?
It nauseates me to see Diaz listed as a "victim". Victim of what, his own stupidity and drug use? Let me direct you back to section 2 where Sgt. Narkewicz details actions leading up to the incident.
Where Diaz was apparently operating a stolen car, "the driver struck and injured" a Hartford Police detective on Affleck Street, the stolen vehicle was operated without regard for other vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Add onto that when the pursuit was finally ended, the driver and the passenger both refused to follow verbal commands and violently resisted arrest. Officers used physical force and even the use of a Taser ,a baton, and combative techniques. Both arrestees suffered injuries during their apprehensions.
Now take a moment and put aside section 2 and look at the requirements for a charge of Assault in the 3rd degree as detailed below from the Connecticut General Statutes: A person is guilty of assault in the third degree when: (1) With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person; or (2) he recklessly causes serious physical injury to another person; or (3) with criminal negligence, he causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon, a dangerous instrument or an electronic defense weapon. (b) Assault in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor and any person found guilty under subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year which may not be suspended or reduced.
Who do you think "caused" Diaz's injuries ? The words "cause" and "intent" figure prominently in that statute. Was it Sgt. Spell pushing Diaz's head away with his foot and rubber sneaker or was it Diaz's own actions and stupidity running from the Police in a stolen car while high on PCP , Cocaine and who knows what else that may have precipitated a less than fortunate outcome to his night...
Victim, no. Out of control drugged up felon, yes.. As a society lets start putting these criminals accountable for the results of their actions and also identify and deal with clearly abusive police officers when it is found to be factual. In the meantime, lets not bow to political pressures to create scapegoats from good police officers just to say the system did something. The ensuing effect will prove to be chilling to good police officers doing their jobs.
The Warrant:
SGT SPELL ARREST WARRANT on Scribd
39 comments:
Kevin, not for nothing, but where is the probable cause? That's crazy, I've had warrants with much more PC declined. Something stinks here. Glad to see your the first and only to post the warrant......would love to know how you got that so quick!!!!!
I'll tell you what's absolutely amazing to me. WFSB, NBC, Fox 61, the Courant, all media outlets have different versions, many inaccuracies. Why? Did they not read the warrant and reports? Why is your blog the only accurate depiction of what happened with the warrant attached to prove factual information. I guess Trump is correct regarding the media. Hopefully better times are coming for law enforcement. God bless HPD and officers across the nation. This is truly wrong. Very sad, anyone that knows Spell knows he was a great guy and treated ALL, regardless of race, with respect and dignity.
The conclusion in the last paragraph (24) is not supported by the 23 previous paragraphs. I do not see the PC for an arrest. The warrant in my mind supports Spell's actions. Our society is heading in the wrong direction.
Thanks for posting the warrant for us all to read Kevin. I'm reading it over and over and just can not make any sense of how or why this warrant was ever signed. Makes no sense. There has got to be more to this.
Has it really come to the point where we will not support our police officers to protect themselves from an active assault? This "victim" was involved in a vehicle pursuit where a police detective was struck by the fleeing vehicle, a stolen vehicle let’s not forget. These "victims" then proceeded to resist arrest and finally stopped miles from where the pursuit originated, in complete disregard for the publics safety. This "victim" then spit blood on an officer before he was placed into handcuffs. As if this was not enough he then continues to spit blood after he is secured, and when Sgt. Spell acts to protect himself he is in the wrong? One strike, not a second, not a third, but one strike to stop an active assault. Let’s be honest here someone had to fall on this politically motivated sword and this is the result. Sean Spell is one of the best, in my opinion the best, supervisor to ever wear the Hartford badge and he is criminally charged for protecting himself. This is a man who dedicated twenty years of his life to protecting the City of Hartford, and trained and mentored countless other officers, much of whom currently hold pivotal positions in this department. If you will not support the actions of a man alike Sean Spell who will you back? Shall we continue to allow this liberal ideology to paint a picture that dangerous criminals are the victim? Enough is enough, how many more stray bullets have to enter Hartford citizen’s houses before we realize that the police are not the enemy here? How many more police officers have to be assassinated before we support our police officers again? We did not sign up for this, when did we become the bad guys, the enemy? When did society decide we are no longer heroes because it is not politically popular? Remember, while you run away from danger we are the ones that run blindly towards it to protect you no matter what. Sean, stay strong and fight this until the end, that warrant is a disgrace, and a sad excuse for probable cause. Over the years I have seen firsthand the level of dedication and professionalism you have always taught and displayed and that will not be forgotten.
Really? They actually wasted the paper and toner to print this arrest warrant???!!! Sgt Spell was a top notch guy and an outstanding cop, he pursued the worst of the worst for 2 decades and because some strung out junkie, thief, thug lower than whale turd got his head pushed because he was spitting blood at the cops they arrest a good man??!! Folks are losing sight of reality!, when this turd burger struck the police officer with his car on purpose he immediately crossed the threshold in the state of Connecticut to utilize deadly force to stop his actions. The minus 5 car driver should thank his lucky pcp stars that an officer that is better versed in HPD'S 1-20 policy and procedure wasn't on scene, because if I had been there and watched him hit one of my fellow brothers in blue he would be taking a permant dirt nap!!!!!
This is all a smoke & mirror show for this ridiculous allegation. The State knows they have nothing but because they're in the spotlight they had to do something. The courts will always look at warrants based on whether or not they believe they have enough for a conviction. I've had several of mine declined for that specific reason. But in this case because the State and City have no "balls" they have decided to embarrass one of the most proud and respected employees of HPD, Sergeant Spell. I won't name names on here but far more cops have gotten away with actually committing crimes and making HPD look bad. There is definitely bias and there is not a fair and impartial system like everyone wants you to believe. Believe that if you want to, it's every man for themselves. I hope to god I don't have to go into Dewey's office anytime soon otherwise that bowl of M&M's on her desk might end up on the floor.
He should of been arrested the night of the crime shame on West Hartford and CSP
Seven months for that garbage warrant with no probable cause? How did that get signed, somebody had to be pushing for that. Lots of speculation and opinion in that warrant. Absolutely guaranteed win at trial but a waste of taxpayers money for trial over two misdemeanors with no PC.
7:07am
Based on what, it took them 6 months to develop that case and nine pages to justify it for a judge
Like Eric Smith, Omar Jones, Jason Thody, should I go on? Spell is a good guy, these however are not.
I don't know what video you watched. In the one I saw the officer STOMPED a handcuffed suspect on the ground. I don't care what drugs the handcuffed suspect was on, what he did previously, nothing. He was handcuffed and on the ground. It was unprofessional, stupid, reckless, and the officer deserves whatever he gets.
If WH had PC, they would have made an arrest, probably a quick misdemeanor summons. But as most know, WHPD enjoys arresting troopers and officers when the opportunity exists.
No PC... ditto on all the other comments. One thing not mentioned is that beyond the personal cost to a GOOD cop who exemplifies the kind of Police Officer we need more of is the actual cost of defending himself against the charges. It's very expensive and needs to be paid for personally. The whole thing has a stink about it!!!
Kevin if you're really going to try and justify why a man was arrested for kicking a subdued person in the back of the head while handcuffed that's a reflection of you I can't wait for this to go to trial
Spell is a good cop. *** * ******** *** downtown The jaw incident was a pass and this incident was caught on camera.
This incident has caused every cop to shut down. Watch this city explode with crime. The residents can blame themselves for all the hate for cops and emotional understanding for thugs trying to get their lives together.
Society accepts that criminals have more rights then the cops. Its sad that command staff and city hall show zero support for the front line men and women. At least chief neville brooks used to come to role calls. Aside from chief buyak, the upstairs needs a good cleaning.
Spell is not the only one to legally milk the city. He will not be the last either .
The criminals on the streets use the hatred of police as a crutch to continue their obtuse actions.
Fact is the city is headed into chapter 11. Yet, we will poor millions into that basement 1970s civic center. A useless busway that no one rides.
Numerous 100 k parades for the residents that cause more violence then good.
12:01PM
I can't wait either. And I am not sure you or anyone else, watching a video or not, can classify the actions as a "kick". Keep in mind that none of those injuries can be attributed to any officers actions, except maybe Officer Bojka and his "inadvertent" baton strike to Diaz's head as mentioned in the warrant. The injuries depicted in the arrest photos were all of Diaz and Perez's own doing by their reckless actions that resulted in the crash, not at the hands of any HPD Officer
10:07 am
Can you send me the link to the video you are describing, I haven't seen anything with the clarity you claim. I can be persuaded if you give me the proof but because some reporter or narrator describes it as a "kick" or a "stomp" isn't enough for me to buy it
There is enough probable cause and evidence to support the arrest of Spell. He always operated well beyond the line into the gray area. Spell is getting what he deserves and the officers/detectives that followed his lead should pay attention. Police are not entitled to special treatment and are not above the law. Spell was shady and hopefully HPD moves away from that type of officer and policing.
Did you type that from desktop in teleserve?
Shady? Because he kept to himself, did his job, bothered nobody, and was always at work when he was supposed to be. You must've not made STF.
There really is no question Spell kicked the idiot in the head while the guy was handcuffed. Spell's actions immediately afterwards and the non-cooperation of the HPD officers all indicate they know he shouldn't have done it. That being said, the point about little PC for 3rd degree assault is a good one. The other BOP charge may stick.
Kevin, I stopped reading because I need to weigh in here. I can see that I have a disagreement. First, I have no moral empathy for that POS that was arrested. I didn't really care that a foot came down on his head. The accused should have been dragged down to a local creek and drowned. Ok? Does this make our friend po-lice know they are supported by the community?
The point I most disparage is the fact that this PIECE OF SHIT will now be able to sue for a large amount of money. He will in the end, settle perhaps for a few hundred thousand. And who pays for it? We, the citizens of Hartford. I don't need or want to see a cop pig lose control just to satisfy his own desire for revenge at my/our expense. I hope that cop bastured goes to prison and is housed next to our resident POS.
They would make wonderful cellies. This leads me to wonder just how much psychological testing it performed to weed out those police cadets who will be susceptible to losing control.
This last point has always been my question especially as it applies to shooting. Guess what cops; You don't always have to shoot for the vital organs to bring a man down.
Kevin, I think we are closer on the issues than I originally thought. I didn't read the full story. My apologies.
You don't have to shoot for vital organs to bring a man down? You are quite uninformed and basically have no clue.
12:49pm
Where to begin? People can sue for anything they want, especially when they find a scum attorney to take the case. That doesn't meant they have won their case. With the exception of the City of Hartford, who has established a reputation as caving in and settling for the easy payout instead of fighting and standing for what is right
Abuse by police officers is wrong. Legitimate cases that are documented and clearly justified should be dealt with severely. That is not the case here. Where is the proof, I still don't see it in that video and no one can tell me that out of 45 police officers, there that they are all corrupt and saw nothing and refused to speak up, probably because there was nothing to see that would rise to the level of an assault. And only one camera view out of all the video on scene? And where is the video from the Hartford students recording it from the sidewalk. Did it not show what the investigators hoped for or maybe it did show something from a different angle that would explain Spell's actions.
In case you don't understand felonies and misdemeanors, your hope of seeing Spell in a cell would never happen. These charges are almost not even worth the time and effort it took to bring them. People committing shootings and armed robberies aren't going to jail, never mind for two misdemeanors.
Finally, a police officers firing a gun is called use of "deadly force for a reason". If and when the decision is made to shoot, it is done for the reason of permanently stopping the threat and is intended as the last resort. It is not to shoot and wound or shoot to scare, that is why "warning shots" from earlier days are a thing of the past. When a police officer pulls the trigger, it is to kill a threat, pure and simple. A wounded suspect can still injure or kill, a dead one usually can't.
We can't always have the luxury of second guessing these decisions, what we have to do is insist on the highest standards in hiring, training and accountability as well as transparency to know we are getting the real facts when needed
And finally, I find it odd that you would condone a suspect being dragged to a creek and drowned by police, but you question the use of deadly force by a police officer firing his weapon?It almost sounds like you support vigilante efforts but not proper police procedure
I need to educate you good sir on the tactics trained by police officers in the state of Connecticut.
Officers ARE NOT trained to shoot for "vital organs" as you so idiotically stated in the above posts. Police officers in the state of Connecticut and across this great trump nation are trained to shoot for the center of avalible mass. Let me simplyfy this for you, Officers are taught and practice shooting for the center of the threat, we teach this because as an officer engages a threat combatant in a life or death situation his or her ability to shoot accurately greatly dimininishes. We can't have Officers shooting for people's knees or hands because of several factors.
1. The officer will most likely not be able to accurately strike that small of a target under stress (you would understand this if you ever shot a firearm in your life) other than potentially having done so while holding a pistol sideways and jerking your wrist back and forth because you believe the bullet goes faster all while hanging out of a 10-68 vehicle window with the odor of marijuana hanging in the air after you speed away from the West Indian club.
2. Because an object as thin as a hand, arm, and most parts of the leg do not do a good job of stopping the round fired by the police in Hartford's case the .40 caliber Winchester ranger. This poses a problem for cops because we are responsible for every bullet fired, I DO NOT want to have a poorly placed shot travel through the suspect that I'm shooting at and tragically strike an innocent child or bystander.
3. And lastly because we do not shoot at someone to slow them down or encourage them to stop what they are doing in a life or death situation with pain compliance. We are shooting based on the immediate need to STOP the threat that is being presented to the officer or a third party innocent that we are attempting to protect. A suspect with a firearm that is struck in the arm or leg can still kill you....With this being said let me remind you that the officer does not decide when he or she will shoot. The suspects actions do!!! The Officer merely is responding to the situation the thug creates. If folks play stupid games they will win stupid prizes.
I suggest you pick up two books, 1st a dictionary (so you can read the second book and understand the words) and 2nd "Into the kill zone" this book may help you understand why police shootings happen they way they do better than attending a blm protest.
Make America great again!!
Everyone knows Spell's actions did not cause any injuries, it's in the affidavit. Everyone knows the driver looks like the elephant man and the passenger (who had his head pushed away from spitting) had a huge laceration on his forehead. Everyone knows those injuries occurred from multiple officers as the car was stopped. Every one of those officers was worried about criminal charges against themselves. I believe even Kevin knows that. They didn't speak to protect themselves in a criminal investigation, as their reports stood for themselves. Officers around Spell did speak and also confirmed the spitting. Officer do not have to speak during a criminal investigation because so many have been f%#+ed. They will have to speak during the internal investigation. There were A LOT of afraid here. Keep it accurate here.
Everyone knows Spell's actions did not cause any injuries, it's in the affidavit and evident in the video. Everyone knows the driver looks like the elephant man and the passenger (who had his head pushed away from spitting) had a huge laceration on his forehead prior. Everyone knows how those injuries occurred. Every one of those officers was worried about the criminal aspect. I believe even Kevin knew of that. They didn't speak to protect themselves in a criminal investigation, as their reports stood for themselves. Officers around Spell did speak and also confirmed the spitting. Officers do not have to speak during a criminal investigation because so many have been f%#+ed in the past. They will have to speak during the internal investigation. There were A LOT afraid here.
You guys are on the losing end. Every high risk active critical incident you guys know what supervisors hid and took their time getting there and which ones flew to the scene and always took control like W. Brooks, Bremser, Spell, St.John, that needed experience is gone. Those guys actually did their job above and beyond, not that others don't, but they had the experience and excelled at what they did. 20+ years of experience like that is a big loss. Stay safe guys and remember how quick the table can turn as many know.
Trump will fix it all. Bronin and his uncle dan malloy are going to be gone soon. All the free hand outs are over. No more ebt card and free liquor at the half door.
Trump is gonna support the police and fix the nations issues
And by the way, that coxvanna xmas tree smells so nice with my fireplace cracklin!!!!!
Vote holton for union prez folks !!
Regarding Jenna Carleso's Courant article today; Community leaders express "relief" and "lingering wariness"? What kind of headline, what kind of story is this? The arrest has been put out there, the video has been put out there, why now the community leaders? The officer has a court date, there is a defense for his actions, why are we trying this case in the courant? The community is not at risk from the Hartford Police, as this newspaper would like you to believe. Enough of this nonsense. Their relief should be that these felons are not on the street and HPD is doing a good job.
Kevin, I know you get everything. I'm pretty positive you have all the officers police reports documenting the entire incident. Question- have you read the reports and are the reports accurately depicted in the warrant and is there anything that was in reports that wasn't in the warrant that was pertinent. If so, we know this stinks in some way. It already does charging a person for two charges for the same single alleged crime. I'm sure the "assault" headline was wanted for BLM etc etc etc.
Maybe Jenna was refused permission for her requested ride-a-long with STF and now she has a chance to get even. And since when has John Selders ever been accused of being a "leader"
BROOKMAN: IM USED TO YOU SUCKING UP TO CHIEF ROVELLA HERE. BUT DAMN BRO ANYONE TRYING TO IMPLY THAT: STOMPING, KICKING... A HANDCUFFED AND SUBDUED SUBJECT IS OK MUST REALLY BE DISTURBED. YES THE SUBJECT HAD INDEED BROUGHT POLICE ATTENTION ONTO HIMSELF. BUT AT THE TIME OF THE STOMP HE WAS CUFFED & SUBDUED. THAT IS SHAMEFUL!!
I still do not see any stomping or kicking in that video. Are you one of the sheep that is willing to blindly follow what you are told? An typing all in caps is more disturbing than standing up for what is right.
Jenna Carleso is absolute garbage, lowest of the lowest scum. She hates all police. Remember that local and state fellas across the state.
Two convicted felons drive a stolen car through two
Cities, endanger everyone in their path, crash that vehicle and somehow
become victims because Sgt. Spell booted one of them in the head because
he was spitting blood at him and other police officers. And oh yeah these two
mutts were high on cocaine, PCP and marijuana.
Sgt. Spell was an outstanding Hartford Police officer and supervisor. He
routinely riddled the city of violent felons, Sometimes daily and yet I heard no public thanks or comment
until he put the boots to Emilio Diaz. Nice work Sean. Diaz is the kind of character
who singlehandedly destroys the quality of life anywhere he is. A complete waste
Of DNA. A multi time convicted felon better suited to a cage than society.
Sometimes police work is ugly, it's always dangerous and the city and all
of its residents are safer because of the work of Sgt. Spell and others like him.
I was proud to work with Sean.
What Omar Jones do?
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