WHERE TO BEGIN

One thing I have to admit I learned was a very important lesson from Chief, now Commissioner Rovella. When Rovella was Chief , early on we had a conversation and he told me I needed to learn to take a breath and calm down many times before I went to my keyboard for a blog post. He said the "venom" showed when I was upset and it detracted from the "fairness" people appreciated when they read the blog.

It has taken me a few days to let the "venom " subside after the resignation of Chief Rosado earlier this week. People were calling asking why I had not posted anything about the impending departure of Chief Rosado.

Well, maybe I was preparing for the announcement for at least the past month as the situation deteriorated, and I could see that almost daily. Many days I would call Chief Rosado with what I began to call his 'well being" checks, just to make sure he was still coming in to his office.

In the beginning, I was very concerned if I would be able to deal with Chief Rosado. We originally met one night a couple months before he actually took over. We did the basic introductions and I quickly felt that this was a guy I could deal with. I was impressed by his love for his family and the passion in his voice when he spoke about his children. Many nights when we were out, either at a community meeting or at someone's home,  he would make it clear that he was heading out because he had to get home to say good night to his kids.

I also respected the fact that he was always truthful and he also had a terrific memory for details and concern for other people. I remember specifically one such time when I was scheduled for some laser eye surgery. David Rosado was still the Lt Colonel for the Connecticut State Police and we had just come through a pretty severe snow storm that was borderline crippling to the highways and transportation.

 I am pretty sure the State Police had their hands full dealing with the weather and Lt. Colonel Rosado was the man at the top in charge of those operations. Imagine my surprise when the morning of my appointment, first thing early in the morning I received a text message from Rosado wishing me "good luck" on my appointment and telling me his thoughts and prayers were with me for a successful outcome.

He quite frequently remembered my doctor appointments better than I did, and to me it showed that he was actually concerned about people.

I only wish that others in the community had taken the time to get to know Chief Rosado , as I did. And gotten to know him before casting judgement on him.

Chief Rosado had more than his share of issues to deal with right out of the gate at HPD. I am sure that in many ways, it was culture shock for him to come from a regimented organization like the Connecticut State Police into the halls of HPD. He dealt very well with the staffing issues and has been able to see the results of an effort started by Chief Rovella to rebuild the staffing numbers and he has continued that effort.

He had labor issues and community issues, issues like the Barone  eventual termination, and I know how hard he worked to resolve that situation and arrive at a point to keep everyone in agreement on resolving the situation, only to see it fall apart in the final hour. A lot of work went into that behind the scenes, and unfortunately Chief Rosado could never lay out all the steps taken and show the community how much he had tried to resolve that.

The Kiddick situation definitely took a toll, and no Chief wants to have any of their officer's injured. I think he also learned very quickly that people who knew nothing about what actually goes on at HPD would present themselves as experts out in the Community dictating HPD policy.
I don't recall ever seeing Councilpeople at the Public Compstat sessions, except for one person, yet they are willing to control everything from body camera's, to taser's to drone policy. Maybe they might want to educate themselves so their decisions actually have some basis,( I wonder how many Hartford City Council members have actually gone on a ride along program to see what our Patrol Officer's face every day?) instead of letting the ACLU dictate HPD policy.

Sorry Chief Rovella, there goes that venom, time to step away from the keyboard for a minute.

I think one of the final straws that broke the camels back happened recently prior to the LGBTQ Commission meeting at City Hall.

After dealing with the Union and the Baerga complaint, Chief Rosado was at City Hall for a meeting in the Mayor's Office, which happened to precede a press conference by the LGBTQ Commission. From what I have been told by a credible source who was in the Mayor's Office. Chief Rosado was quickly ushered out of the Mayor's Office so that he would not be around during the press conference or the Commission meeting. This was apparently done at the direction of Mayor Bronin.

Once the LGBTQ Commission meeting began, an audience member asked Mayor Bronin why Chief Rosado was not in attendance. Instead of showing some integrity and telling the audience member  that he instructed the Chief not to be there, Bronin was on video saying "I don't know why he is not here". I think Chief Rosado still has tire marks on his back from where Bronin threw him under the bus.

This is not the way you treat a professional, or anyone for that matter. Maybe that is why Luke Bronin has had such a high turnover in his Administration.

I could go on with more examples, but it won't change the outcome. Chief Rosado has made his decision, and as disappointed as I am that we won't be able to see what progress he would make with another year or two, I have to support David's decision for the well being of his family.

 Chief Rosado, you made the right decision. I still support what you have done here in your unfortunately short tenure, but you did make a difference, I hope Chief Thody and Chief Medina can keep that progress moving

Best of luck to you and your family in your new career.

What happened to Home Depot?