Baerga was also the department's liaison to the LGBTQ community. Baerga apparently went out on EAP due to the stress from her incident.
An interim LGBTQ liaison, Officer Jessica Stroud, was put in place to take over building relationships between the LGBTQ community and HPD.
Sadly the person who is supposed to be on the forefront of combating discrimination and building a sense of acceptance is now caught in the middle of an HPD Internal Affairs investigation questioning her own alleged discriminatory behavior.
HPD Officer Jessica Stroud is accused of publicly calling a new Probationary Police Officer (PPO) a "Retard" in front of his co-workers.
It is sad because Stroud as the LGBTQ liaison should understand the hurt and the harm that words can due and she seems to be incapable of treating all people with respect. It really makes me wonder how someone that could use the term retard, for whatever reason, to address a co-worker what kind of language she would use on the streets in dealing with residents?
I don't think you can demand respect for yourself and then not be afraid to engage in hateful, hurtful speech of your own
Civility and courtesy need to be extended to all people and not just specific groups you align yourself with. I think that is an example that needs to be shown to all new officers by the senior officers training them and Officer Stroud failed miserably in that aspect.
Stroud Complaint on Scribd
UPDATE : THE DOCUMENTS BELOW WERE RECEIVED PURSUANT TO AN FOI REQUEST, AFTER MY ORIGINAL POSTING. THEY SHOW THAT CITY HALL HR PUNTED THIS HOT POTATO BACK TO HPD SO THAT HR WOULDN'T HAVE TO GET INVOLVED FOR WHATEVER REASON
Stroud Hr Referral by kevinhfd on Scribd
And this is exactly why Ofc. Stroud has earned herself a nickname
ReplyDeletegoing to share with us?
ReplyDeleteThody could have sent a message and had her moved from her comfortable car in which she DOES NOTHING WITH but nope. Just keep rewarding the undeserving.... morale at an all time low. Good job Thody. Should have taken East Hartford gig
ReplyDeleteShe is being railroaded.. Period. Stop feeding into this name smearing campaign.. You should be held accountable as well
ReplyDelete6:03PM do you really think your comments are fair? You don't turn a tanker around on a dime. For an organization that is on its third leadership change in what, 14 months? I am surprised there is any stability at all, but I do think Chief Thody and Chief Medina are doing a decent job holding the organization together. It is hard to build morale without a permanent Chief in place because no one is sure who is going to be in charge from day to day and no permanent changes are going to be made until there is a permanent Chief. Give Thody a chance. You might accomplish more working with him and being part of the solution
ReplyDeleteKevin -
ReplyDeleteThough I've never had the opportunity to speak with you, I respect you on your never ending quest for transparency within the City of Hartford. As an employee of the Police Department, I may sometimes disagree with your views, however the lens I look through is likely different than yours and I cannot change that. I'm personally not a fan of Jessica and her general demeanor with citizens, however she does her job better than most and gets most of the big stuff right. Yes, I agree that saying something demeaning about a fellow employee is wrong however, you have to understand the environment which we work in. What she's alleged to have said is hardly newsworthy compared to the daily locker room conversations that take place. Much worse has been written on the blog by numerous anonymous employees.
With regard to your comments on leadership, yes there's been significant turn over in the last 14 months. It doesn't affect the rank and file in the way you'd think though. Rovella did a good job but time after time, he continually took care of the same people and gave them opportunities that other's never got the benefit of even applying for. Rosado had his hands full and never was accepted due to his trooper mentality. Thody stands no chance in his curreet position and if you were an employee you'd never give him one either. No one in patrol can recall a time where Thody did anything that loosely resembled police work. I don't know that he can either. It's very hard to respect someone in a leadership position who doesn't know what it's like to work so hard yet go unnoticed for so long. He showed total disrespect for his colleagues when he shoved and pushed a fellow officer that was responding to essentially save him from an assault. How he is in a position of leadership right now is beyond me.
6:40PM
ReplyDeleteAre you saying she did not call the Officer "retarded". Is that statement untrue?
I can't speak on if Jessica's called her PPO something inappropriate but I can say the comment about her not doing anything in her car is wrong. Anyone in north patrol hears her taking calls all night. Almost always first to sign on and she clears calls she has to write up later just to take another call in her area. Please don't make stuff up.
ReplyDeleteI heard her say it, she said it in front of a room of us, technically she didn’t say he was, she asked him “are you retarded?”
ReplyDeleteHere we go AGAIN!!!!!! WHY WOULD ANYONE WITH HALF A BRAIN GO TO A FELLOW CO-WORKER TO SEEK OUT “CONFIDENTIAL” HELP??Did anyone else read in the report where the probationary cop didn’t reachout to a supervisor so he wouldn’t bring NEGATIVE ATTENTION TO HIMSELF!!!!! WTF!!! I don’t care how nice or competent or educated the EAP representative is ,, THEY SHOULD NOT WORK IN THE SAME ORGANIZATION AS THE EMPLOYEE SEEKING HELP IN “ CONFIDENCE” AND THE PUBLIC SHOULD NOT BE INFORMED OF THE NAME OF THE EAP REPRESENTATIVE ,,,WHAT IS THAT ??? SOME IDIOTIC FORM OF TRANSPERACY??? Why won’t Hartford’s HR department fix this Kev??? It seems like HPD and HFD only truly care about potential LIABILITY instead of really giving a shit. Makes me sick watching from the sidelines as brothers drink and drug themselves to sleep and some just plain checkout all together . You people at the top need to grow some balls and step up.
ReplyDeleteshe may do good things but the stupid mistakes are what follow you, and I am not the one that questioned her "not doing anything"
ReplyDeleteIt was given to HR but they didn't want to touch it so the HR Director punted the hot potato back to HPD to be handled by IAD. As far as the supervisor who wrote it up, that is exactly what should have been done when he (they) became aware of it. That is what they call "failure to supervise" if he didn't address it. If you remember the Baerga incident, that is one of the things that got LT West in trouble when he was aware of the harassment by Rodney and apparently did nothing. And I agree, leaders need to lead and not worry about the consequences for holding people accountable for inappropriate actions
ReplyDeleteI have since received the HR documents rejecting Chief Thody's request that they look into this matter. They were provided as part of an FOI request I submitted to HPD earlier. They seem to be pretty clear to show that HR wanted no part of this. I guess zero tolerance still doesn't actually mean zero tolerance at City Hall.
ReplyDeleteThe documents have been added to the bottom of the original posting
City Hall has a history of ignoring "Hot Topics". They could have prevented a situation that's currently working its way towards litigation as we speak/type. Another case that will eventually cost the taxpayers another huge payout...stay tuned.
DeleteNo, City Hall does not have a history of ignoring “Hot Topics!’ Under Luke Bronin, City Hall only has a history of only ignoring “Hot Topics” that don’t benefit them in some way. If the “Hot Topic” benefits them with voters in future elections or personally, they’re all over it. Otherwise, they could care less. No gain- no attention.
DeleteStroud made me want to quit, I will admit she’s extremely proactive and handles her calls for service, but she is very rude to people that sometimes don’t deserve it, and she is so condescending to her ppo’s she made me feel like a worthless piece of garbage. Sometimes I just thought about quitting rather than coming in for another shift with her. She was terrible to all of my classmates.
ReplyDeleteShameful Ari Rivera with less than a year on talking about a senior hard working officer
DeleteI’m certainly not ari but she did treat her like crap too! How about this, find a pop that liked her, how about that? All of my other fto’s were excellent. She’s just mad at the world because of all of her internal struggles and demons.
Delete
ReplyDeleteStroud is Terrible and she has
several NICKNAMES.SHE SHOULD NOT
BE ALLOWED TO ASK IF SOMEONE IS RETARDED.
HORRIBLE USE OF WORDS.SHE SHOULD BE FIRED.
THODY HAS ALSO CALLED COPS TERRIBLE THINGS.
ReplyDeleteShe Treats the PPO's like DOG MEAT.
Stroud should be given a Lesson on Ettiquette.
I do not want to be called a JERK.
ReplyDeleteStroud always carries extra food out in the Field, for the Troops. Always there vwith a song and a poem. Those food resources come in handy.
So SNACKS we got your BACK.
On my very first day in the fto program, stroud looked at me, laughed and said “great, another person that has no idea what there doing, Shouldn’t take long for you to quit”
ReplyDeleteBrookman you are good at getting the facts so go get them rather than asking questions on your own blog. You aren't the JERK @11:34PM she is, and a poser who acts as she does due to her own insecurities. FOI her personnel file. Should reveal the messes she has gotten into over the years and the mess she really is. Unless her file and EAP stuff has been wiped.
ReplyDeleteI feel more safe outside the walls of 253 than I do inside
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteJeffrey Moande fondly known as GOOSE
should not be writting cops up with his track record. AT HPD
and what record is that?
ReplyDeleteSgt. Morande is a natural born leader. As a fellow veteran I know that Jeff’s operational experience in multiple categories make him the highest speed patrol sergeant we have. I would even argue that he is the highest trained and most capable sergeant in the entire department. He had every right to write up this incompetent officer for this violation. It’s about time someone calls her out for her antics that have been going on for far too long.
ReplyDeletehe would have been negligient if he had knowledge and did nothing
ReplyDeleteNevermind Jeff''s negligence what about negligence in measuring Stroud's mental suitability for the job. Another Rovella excuse for an officer. Anyone hear about her Dr Seuss wedding outfits? Stroud is the last officer who should have been training or judging anyone on the job. Thody knows Stroud's had problems since her own days as a PPO.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Paul West and Andrew Rodney should take notes from Morande and Michels...... and maybe Thody should just leave now and let a cop with an ounce of street time take the helm. Life would be better here at the circus we call HPD
ReplyDeleteMichel and Morande do run a tight ship. I credit them for the lack of violence lately. Violence is down during peak hours, not just northeast where the street crimes characters roam while their boss sleeps at 50J in his recliner.
ReplyDeleteSomebody Please!! Explain the dr. Seuss comment
ReplyDeleteWhy is this even a surprise? Stroud has been treating people like shit since sergeant Gordon had her doing wind sprints around the cruiser. She had piss poor tactics, and instead of owning it decided to try to say she was forced to do it because she was a lesbian. No ones buying it cup cake. Stop treating your brothers and sisters in blue like total pieces of garbage.
ReplyDeleteCredit for a lack of violence? What have they imposed to lower crime? I guess not one other division that works B squad has any impact...
ReplyDeleteI also guess the summer initiative doesn’t have an impact... just two people
As the saying goes Hurt People HURT PEOPLE Stroud has personal demons she is dealing dealing with. Maybe she abused or bullied im her life. And now she is taking that pain out on others. Funny how the tables turn she was once a victim on this blog with the Gordan incident, now she is the Perpetrator.
ReplyDeleteJust be thankful we don't have Morrison anymore, he was the worst: screaming at ambulance personnel for no reason (witnessed by many), dropping his keys into a dead guy's brain matter (without documenting it), unable to communicate, panicking on almost any incident, and showing up on scene with a golf ball sized dip in his mouth. SMH
ReplyDeleteAnd don’t forget looking like a bag of sh@$ ungroomed and unshaven!
ReplyDeleteNow he walks around forcing detectives to tuck in their shirts or he will write them up. To be a Supervisor in HPD, you have to be a hypocrite and a snake. No Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIf IAD interviews all of Stroud’s PPO’s.... they will get the truth.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteYes IAD should interview The PPO'S of Stroud
to get to the truth.
Off subject a little, and I’m sure this probably won’t be posted. But patrol is seriously hurting for cars, it’s probably been about 3 years since we’ve seen a new car. You would know Kevin, is it true Thody ordered all new Tahoe’s for chief’s, command staff and himself (hearing 10) and some new explorers also for take home cars, nothing for patrol? Really not sure if this is rumor only, but I hope it is. If that is the case it would be very disappointing. Anyone else hearing this or able to confirm?
ReplyDeleteIt’s rumor, new ppv explorers are coming to patrol
DeleteYou have no clue what your talking about. The 15 new vehicles are going to command staff, traffic, and CSO. And that's according to the brass who made a once in a lifetime appearance at roll call. Patrol will get no NEW vehicles. Only the used ones that traffic and CSOs will give up when they get THEIR new ones will be handed down to patrol. Patrol will never get new vehicles thanks to all the new kids who just love to crash. As it is count your blessings you can drive a 2011 crown vic with 200,000 miles
DeleteI do know what I’m talking about lol, I didn’t say when, they will get to patrol in about 5 years after all of us with take homes are done with them, what do you expect us to do? Give them to a new kid that’s gonna blow a red light going to get dinner and almost hit one of the sergeants? Do your time and you too one day will have a nice vehicle.
DeleteWhy would Thody care about patrol? He’s never worked it. He doesn’t even know what it’s like to be a cop. All he knows is how to wear a tailored suit. I’d be surprised if the man even has a piece of body armor that isn’t expired. Patrol’s fleet is in the worst shape it’s ever been. I can think of a few retired supervisors who’d be disgusted with the current state of this department under this command staff.
ReplyDeleteThere’s currently 25 deadlined cars. We are forced to have people up in spare cars with holes in the floor and no computers or medical kits and Thody orders his command staff new cars? What a joke. No leadership
ReplyDeleteFollowing in the muddy footsteps of his idol and mentor...CSP Commish
DeleteAbsolutely false, new cars are coming, but NOT for patrol! Maybe next year they’re coming in 2020 when Thody is L Lincoln. This year 15 unmarked vehicle’s were ordered per Thody. Tahoe’s and Explorers, all for command staff so they can have brand new cars to drive off duty and go to lunch and coffee breaks in. How did the union allow this?
ReplyDeleteCome on now, Thody is in need of a new $50,000 Tahoe, his is a 2016, way to old for his new crispy suits.
ReplyDeleteWhy the silence on the fleet Mr. Brookman? We come to you for facts since we can’t get facts from our own administration. Can you report on this with facts please? It’s very important to us lowly patrol officers.
ReplyDeleteI love the reply at 10:51pm standing up for Thody saying that’s a rumor. Bowsza - just put your name next time!
ReplyDeleteInterim Chiefs Pawlina, Fallon, and Heavren would have never put up with this lol
ReplyDeleteChief Thody and Chief Medina are not people to be feared. I think you can ask them questions and get the answers. 15 New vehicles have been ordered and 10 more are expected after the new fiscal year begins July 1st. There is a possibility of more vehicles being purchased conditional on budget money being freed up. The 15 new vehicles, (Ford Explorers) are being outfitted at MHQ for the electronics.The new vehicles will go to Command Staff and will free up those vehicles to be rotated to patrol or elsewhere. The reason being is that most Command Staff vehicles are in very good shape when sent to patrol with relatively low mileage. The law of averages is that patrol vehicles get involved in crashes much more often and it makes more sense risk a used fleet vehicle than patrol crashing a brand new vehicle with 1000 miles on it. According to Chief Thody, all of the new vehicles will be ordered with the patrol package, spotlights, rubber floor mats etc. that will make the transition back to patrol much easier when the vehicles are turned back from Command Staff
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to see all of the new vehicles going to patrol first where they are really needed , but the way it is done makes sense in the long run.
The new Patrol vehicles are expected to be outfitted with the new Axon dash cameras also. 75 Dash Cameras are ordered as well as 63 new MDT's (Mobile Data Terminal's= laptops)
The MDT's will be required to interface with the Dash Cams.
Also, for those of you who have been calling me, the temporary assignment for the LT who resides in New York does not allow him a take home car to commute to New York. His vehicle is parked nightly at a CSP barracks in Connecticut under an agreement made.
Right.....clearly the last Tahoe totaled that I can remember was Cicero.
ReplyDeleteKevin, you were either lied to or are lying. I’m going to go with lied to. The vehicles are not Ford Explorers, I know this for a fact. There are 10 Tahoe’s and 5 Explorers. This is right from public works who cuts the purchase orders. You can easily confirm that. And please tell me what current command staff vehicles can be kicked down to patrol. Have you not seen your being bamboozled? Time will tell....time stamp this comment. Money would have been better spent on all Ford’s that really could have been transitioned to patrol.
ReplyDelete“According to Chief Thody”......let me translate that for you Kevin, not true, inaccurate false information.
ReplyDeleteAnother part of the problem is the City of Hartford illogical logic.
ReplyDeleteIf a cruiser is totaled in an accident , even if the other operator's vehicle insurance is at fault, the reimbursement from the Insurance company goes into the City's General fund. Common sense would say that if a cruiser is totalled and the City is reimbursed, then the money should go to replace the cruiser, but that is not the way it works in Hartford, so instead if HPD has 5 cruisers totaled, even though they are fully paid for and reimbursed, Patrol is still short 5 cruisers
3:35PM
ReplyDeleteBut the kid sings a great National Anthem. #untouchable
Patrol is in dire need of patrol vehicles now!!!! Not in a year from now when chief’s and command staff vehicles are “broken in” and handed down to patrol in a year from now. In a perfect world that’s fine, but this is a crisis. The trickle down plan was deviated from years ago.
ReplyDeleteGeez, stop and read the information Brookman is giving you! All the Command Staff’s current vehicles are going to patrol. So yes, Patrol will now have nice Tahoe’s to crash and dump your daily trash in. Patrol never got the new cars so stop complaining about not getting cars with zero mileage! Take better care of your stuff and take pride in what you do. God Bless!
ReplyDeletePatrol is finally getting almost new Tahoe’s!!!! Awesome.....how cool!!
ReplyDeleteWhen you have certain officers smoking cigarettes daily in vehicles, there is no reason to pass shiny new tahoes to destroy.
ReplyDeleteAnd what csp barracks ? That is a load of crap. Troop Danbury i bet .....
Speaking of vehicles, Imagine at least ONE city vehicle (HFD) being used during the day, to
ReplyDelete"Deliver" meals for one of those delivery services. Maybe even hit an animal on city time, causing damage, that the City will end up paying for. Look into this one Kevin.
Please forward me more details if you can. You can also post an anonymous comment , just start it off by saying "please don't post" and then include the details
ReplyDelete6:41 pm
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree, almost every decision made by Bronin is based on the potential political fallout and how it will affect his climb to the next rung on his political ladder, such as taking an actual stand on Zero Tolerance against sexual harassment and discrimination and not just pointing to the signs at the entrance to City Hall> Luke is more concerned with making a name for himself as the Sanctuary Mayor on the national stage than he is in addressing issues that harm people everyday in Hertford such as poor housing, raw sewage in basements and the list goes on. He spent almost two years trying to make a run for Governor instead of focusing on being a real Mayor
Has Luke taken that stand because there seems to be several pending incidents where he has done nothing but hide and pretend that he's too busy, or say it's being handled by someone other than himself.
DeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteI’m ashamed to say I work at HPD. Others feel the same. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth. Morale is at an all time low. Our command staff is the blind leading the blind. Jason Thody and Rafael Medina are two guys who know nothing about being a beat cop in Hartford and yet they are leading us. Heck, I rather have Rendock. At least he actually worked the street at one point. I believe and have heard you have some juice to get things done so please help the rank and file and OUR city.
Mic drop!!!! @10:08
ReplyDeleteWill someone take the 58 Grand in asset forfeiture that Fallon seized in PATROL and buy PATROL a few new vehicles???
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIf you are ashamed to work for
this Once proud Police Department then quit.!!!!!
Here you are making a great salary, health and pension benefits.
We don't want Cowards like you.
Signed ,
a Former Decorated Hatford Police Veteran. Who always worked the Street.
I use to love to go to work everyday
Don't want to hear a Crybaby
11:27 PM ,,, You old timers are A$$HOLES when it comes to your knee jerk retorts on this blog. WHATS THE CORRELATION BETWEEN BEING ASHAMED TO SAY YOU WORK FOR HPD AND BEING A COWARD??? At HFD I was privileged to work with many brave brothers who were first in and last out when it came to doing the work,,,, BUT,,,, they were ashamed and embarrassed to publicly display their affiliation with that shitshow ,,, no HFD hats,t-shirts ,bumper stickers,window stickers or even conversation,,,NOTHING! The fact that you identified yourself as a “Former Decorated Police Veteran” says it all about who you are/were ,,, a real cop or firefighter would be humble and KEEP THEIR MOUTH SHUT and would be embarrassed to accept “salad dressing” for doing their job!! I would think YOUR pension and health benefits would have sufficed, but no ,YOU NEED DECORATIONS!!!! I honestly think you “old timers” couldn’t handle what this generation of cops are put through and have to put up with. Instead of living in your hazy past why don’t you go on a couple of ride alongs and then make some educated comments. 11:27 PM ,Sleep tight tonight holding on to your shadow box of “blue ribbons”... WTF!!!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete8 18 PM SOUNDS LIKE A GUY WHO WAS
A HOUSE MOUSE.!!!!!
hey 8 18 pm
ReplyDeletehe never identified himself -------YOU JERK;
Dude I agree with the OLD TIMER.
Is Stroud that tough or is it that she holds her PPO’s to a higher standard? If the same thing she said or has done was done by one of the guys in the “good ole boys” club, it would be considered tough love.
ReplyDeleteWho exactly is in the “good ole boys club?”
DeleteHey 7:53 AM and 7:55 AM ,,,AWESOME COMEBACKS !!!! I can picture you two old birds giggling sending your comments while sitting at the local bakery counter drinking shitty coffee and eating your “discounted” day old donut sharing war stories about “how it used to be”,,,, NOW BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU ,USE THE COMBINED QUARTER OF A BRAIN REMAINING , STAY FOCUSED AND ANSWER THE SIMPLE QUESTION (well,maybe not for you two or “one”) ,,,,, WHAT’S THE CORRELATION BETWEEN BEING ASHAMED TO SAY YOU WORK FOR HPD AND BEING LABELED A COWARD FOR STATING SO????? Respectfully Submitted “The Jerky House Mouse” P.S. Please dust off your joke book from the 60’s and try again
ReplyDeleteSTROUD IS GOING AROUND DENYING THESE ALLEGATIONS. DO YOU NOT REALIZE THERE WERE MULTIPLE WITNESSES?? HOPE YOU LOSE YOUR JOB STROUD LOL
ReplyDelete1013 am ii COULD BUY AND SELL YOU TEN TIMES OVER.
ReplyDeleteyOU SOUND lIKE fOTIS dULOS.