UPDATE: JIMMY NGO TERMINATED FROM HARTFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT

According to sources within the Hartford Fire Department, Jimmy Ngo has officially been terminated from the Hartford Fire Department this afternoon.

Sources claim the decision was made based on information from the Connecticut State Police, given to HFD  that Ngo had admitted in both written statements and through audio and video recordings that he was shot on April 21st as the result of a "drug deal gone bad".

That has yet to be proven and the suspect arrested in the shooting seems less than credible, to me at least, in his statements..

This termination may prove problematic for the City eventually. Although Hartford does have a "zero tolerance" policy for drug use, there is no direct evidence that the drug deal was factual and actually did occur.

If Jimmy Ngo was an alleged drug dealer, there is no place nor should there be, a spot for him at HFD. If it is proven that there was a drug deal in place, so be it, the termination is warranted.

Hopefully the accusations will be proven baseless and if so, Ngo should be restored to his position, with full back pay and benefits.

The HFD contract apparently does not allow for discipline for "off duty" incidents unless it involves a felony arrest. At this point there has been no arrest for Ngo and no indication that any is planned by CSP.

Hartford Fire Chief Reginalg Freeman issued the following brief statement this afternoon:

 "On Wednesday, July 05, 2017, the Hartford fire department conducted an internal investigation pertaining to one of its members (Jimmy Ngo) that was allegedly involved in activity that is in violation of city and department policy. The facts obtained from this internal investigation warranted disciplinary action from the fire department’s administration. As a result of the findings, the member’s employment with the City of Hartford has been terminated, effective immediately. The City of Hartford and Hartford Fire Department has a zero tolerance for violation of its said policies that are counterintuitive to the hard work, dedication and sacrifices made by the greater body. "

THE JIMMY NGO SHOOTING, SOMETHING DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

I am not always correct, and I can admit when I am wrong, but my gut is telling me something stinks here.

Usually when  I post a blog story I get plenty of calls about the subject of the posting. Many of the calls are usually from people familiar with the topic. Some pro, some con, but usually plenty of different opinions.

Jimmy Ngo was an exception to that. Now I have never met Jimmy, but plenty of people who know him have called me though. 100% of the people who called said they never knew or heard of him being involved with drugs. They all painted a picture of a hard working conscientious firefighter, committed to his career. I was told he always had a smile on his face and was professional and polite.

Most of his colleagues were surprised when the word of his shooting on Thursday April 20th began spreading throughout the Hartford Fire Department. People were totally amazed when the details of the arrest of Jesus Perez, the alleged shooter, began emerging this week. Perez's defense seems to be a picture he painted of a drug deal gone bad.

Those details are spelled out in the arrest warrant affidavit that led to Perez's arrest on attempted murder, assault, robbery and firearms  charges this week.

It gets somewhat5 confusing when Detective Meier uses the first six pages of the affidavit to attempt to establish the background and the motive for the shooting. That theory sounds more like the opening of a John Grisham novel. Even though there are numerous references to the drug deal gone bad, there appears to be no attempt to verify the "third party" drug dealers identity, just that he was present. There is also no mention of the type of drugs, the alleged quantity or even if the location Perez claims the drugs were obtained was even a known drug location.

I know, I know, the "narcotics" and the "unknown third party " all disappeared after the shooting according  to the eventually arrested shooter Jesus Perez. But that  seems odd to me that several pages were allotted to Perez's theory of the crime, but nothing to attempt to verify that theory. and if you read the affidavit, Perez seems to have a credibility problem. Why would someone who claims he just witnessed a possible shooting not even call the Police, even  anonymously if needed.

The part that confuses me though is that eventually revealed in paragraph 16. Detective Meier seems to make an abrupt U-turn and lays out a totally different version of the shooting, which seems to be a more factual version than the Grisham novel laid out previously. Jimmy Ngo identified Jesus Perez as the shooter . Ngo seems to make the claim it was because he told Perez he was cutting off the money train he had been providing to him.

Paragraph 16 also once again mentions the elusive "drug deal gone bad". Detective Meier states that the illicit drug deal was "several months" in the planning, yet the timeline doesn't add up. Roughly less than 2 months had gone by since the time Perez claims they began planning the drug deal in early February and the shooting on April 20th. Hardly the several months detailed in the warrant.

And the warrant affidavit is specific about the video obtained from surrounding businesses detailing the times of vehicle movement on the property, yet there is no mention of the vehicle containing the  "unidentified third party". Could that be because there was no third party and the tale weaved by Jesus Perez was an attempt to just cover the shooting of Jimmy Ngo?

The charges in the arrest warrant would seem to confirm Jimmy Ngo's version, resulting in the arrest of Jesus Perez.

I would also question the legitimacy of Ngo's statements and how they would hold up in court considering Ngo had been shot in the head and was most likely under some serious medication at the time. And I would also wonder how someone could waive their Miranda rights under such conditions.

Sources familiar with the incident have told me that Ngo emphatically denies making any statements  about his involvement in at drug deal, as claimed by the alleged shooter Jesus Perez. CSP claims there are audio and video recordings of NGO's statements, as well as written statements. It will be interesting to hear those recordings and see if Ngo appears lucid or disoriented in them.

 Any one who watches any television knows that you should "lawyer up"  under such circumstances, yet Jesus Perez laid out the details of the alleged "drug deal gone bad" in his first telephone conversation with the State Police detectives as detailed in paragraph 10. Perez spilled his guts to CSP Detective McGlynn less than 14 hours after the shooting, in a phone call none the less.

I know that the facts might look bad for Jimmy Ngo right now, but hopefully the people who called me in support of Jimmy will be proven correct as the facts unwind. There will be a quite a few disappointed people who had high hopes for a young Hartford Firefighter if it doesn't.

You can read the arrest warrant affidavit here

ARREST MADE IN SHOOTING OF HARTFORD FIREFIGHTER-THE ARREST WARRANT APPLICATION

 

 

I have to say, this is not what I expected, but everyone is innocent until proven guilty and I think there is still a lot more to come out on this.

The following statement was issued by Hartford's Fire Chief Reginald Freeman this afternoon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Arresting Affidavit

 

Here is the official statement from Fire Chief Reginald Freeman regarding the today’s arraignment and released affidavit:

 

“I am conducting a thorough investigation into any improper conduct related to this incident in conjunction with other city agencies. The Hartford Fire Department expects all employees to live by the highest ethical and professional standards at all times.  There is absolutely zero tolerance for the kind of illegal activity depicted/alleged in the arresting affidavit.   By no means, should this incident be reflective of the hard work and sacrifice that is demonstrated on a daily basis by the men and women of the Hartford Fire Department. After the investigation is complete, if warranted, this administration will determine what disciplinary measures need to be taken.”

 

 

"We serve to save"

 

The arrest warrant application for Jesus Perez:

 

 

Jesus Perez Affadavit by Kevin Brookman on Scribd

 

THIS WEEK'S "WE THE PEOPLE" PROGRAM

VISION OR DIVISION?

Several years ago when Richard Blumenthal was Connecticut's Attorney General, the joke used to be "Where is the most dangerous spot in Connecticut?" The punch line was "Between Blumenthal and a TV camera".

I think we can update that joke now to "Where is the most dangerous spot in Washington DC?". And the punch line will have to be "between Senator Blumenthal and Senator Murphy and a TV camera"

As I sit here thinking about the July 4th holiday coming up this week, I am pretty confident that the nation we are today is a far cry from what our founders envisioned. We are supposed to be a "representative Democracy", but sadly I think very few of the people we elect actually represent us.

Yes, Washington DC is a mess, I don't think anyone can deny that. That mess did not start on January 20th with the Inauguration of Donald Trump, it has been a mess for years, if not decades.

I don't think our elected officials  comprehend that they were elected to represent US! They have lost sight of why they are there. We don't elect "parties". We elect individuals, and the business of partisan politics is killing this country. So many issues are stuck in a partisan quagmire, instead of being based in what is best for us, the citizens.

Congress is elected to set the laws that are supposed to guide a "nation of laws. So why aren't they doing it? Did Congress only realize that after a new President came into office on January 20th that our immigration laws are broken? The same with our tax laws and Healthcare laws?

Is it wrong for an Administration to choose to enforce laws that are on the books and have been ignored for many years?

Instead of running for the TV cameras, maybe, just maybe, the officials we  elect to represent us should be coming together and coming up with a compromise  to introduce and pass laws that actually work for and not hurt the people they are supposed to represent.

Instead of running to the Sunday morning talk shows with your soundbites, show some leadership and come up with workable solutions. What works with the Affordable Care Act and come up with a consensus as to what is wrong and fix it. Look at what is wrong with immigration and fix it so that people who actually want to eventually be productive American citizens have a workable pathway to get there.

How about a period of amnesty for people who are here illegally? A 1 year  period to get into the Federal system and come out of the shadows. If you aren't in the process after 1 year, all bets are off and deportation is a likely end, but at least give people the chance to get started. 30 years in the US illegally doesn't indicate to me a desire to be a citizen, but at least they should be offered the option before being deported

Passing legislation for the people  may not help someones political career, but maybe it might help the same people who put their trust in you when they elected you.

I have received two e-mails this past week from the Congressman who is supposed to represent me telling me how he needed my help to assist him in getting the job done as he tries to do his job in Washington. And that help was requested in the form of a donation to his campaign. WHY? Is the salary he makes not enough to accomplish his job? Is his healthcare in danger of cancellation if I don't send a "contribution".

We need to start electing people that actually want to represent us and not climb to the next rung on their ladder of political aspirations.

Fight the tough fights when they need to be fought, but also be willing to show some real leadership and represent us when it is so sorely needed. It is what our founding fathers expected when they put their own lives on the line to "build a more prefect Union". And we are far from perfect right about now.