THIS WEEK'S "WE THE PEOPLE" PROGRAM"

RE-ARREST ORDERED FOR FORMER HPD SERGEANT

SCN_0015 by on Scribd

A Hartford Superior Court Judge has ordered the re-arrest of former HPD Sergeant Justin Torniero after he failed to appear in Court for his most recent Court date.

The charges stem form Torniero's December 2017 arrest after an Internal Affairs Investigation.

 Torniero may be hospitalized in a addiction treatment facility, but that information could not be verified at the time of his Court hearing by his attorney to the Court's satisfaction, resulting in a re-arrest warrant being issued for Torniero, and his bond being increased to $375,000.

 If it can be verified that Torniero was actually hospitalized the re-arrest warrant will be vacated by the Judge

LESLIE: IT IS TIME TO COME OUT OF YOUR BUNKER AND FACE THE MUSIC

At the beginning of this week, I probably would have said things can't possibly be as bad as I am being told in the Hartford Schools. No adult that claims they care about children would allow it.

Then the barrage of phone calls, e-mails and text messages kept coming in all day Tuesday and Wednesday and they haven't stopped yet.

Here is one example below:

" I teach at a school in Hartford. The behaviors we are dealing with on a daily basis are insanely disrespectful and disruptive. I am sworn at daily. I feel like a verbal punching bag. One student has verbally threatened me twice and just the other day he stepped close to my face & flinched his shoulders as if he was going to hit me.  (I wrote him up but there was no consequence). I write the same 5 kids up daily as they sabotage my lessons daily. The superintendent will not allow any out of school suspensions unless they are approved by her office. This is a way to doctor her @attendance matters” data! 

This superintendent has got to go! Why the district hired someone with no classroom experience is disturbing. How can you decide what is best for your schools, teachers and students if you haven’t worked in one! "

And that e-mail above was tame.

Then I got a call regarding the suspension of Jose Colon -Rivas, the COO for the Hartford Schools. It sounded very similar to the removal of Joanne Laiscell, the Financial executive who was also removed recently. And eventually you have to start asking , is there really a problem or is this just a way of discrediting people in the Central Office who are getting too close to the truth.

Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez refuses to answer questions despite numerous requests from the Internal Audit Commission and e-mails sent below.

The problem is that Leslie Rodriguez-Torres has pretty much gone into hiding to avoid any scrutiny or to explain her actions hiding behind FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) a Federal Law governing educational  information, or the usual "its a personnel matter". Even Hartford's Internal Auditors who are tasked with getting answers to financial questions are hitting a stone wall with Torres-Rodriguez. as detailed in the e-mail below obtained through an FOI request

Subject: FW: IAC meeting request

Good afternoon Leslie;

 

Per the email chain below, we’ve been trying to obtain a response from you about attending our Internal Audit Commission (IAC) meeting.  To date, we have not been able to confirm your acceptance of our request.  We initially emailed you on Jan 17^th @9:09AM and you responded that you couldn’t make our Feb 13^th Internal Audit Commission meeting and preferred a phone call instead.  The requesting IAC member prefers that you attend an IAC meeting rather than a phone conference call.  We then reached back out to you on Jan 22 @10:19AM and then again on Feb 4^th @7:45AM to attend our March 20^th or April 17^th meeting; however, we have yet to receive a response back from you.  I have been asked by a member of the IAC to send a 4^th invite in hope that you can attend our next meeting on March 20^th set for 2:00PM in Room 304 of City Hall.  Please let the Chief Auditor, Craig Trujillo, know if you could attend the March 20^th IAC meeting or not.  Thank you and we hope you can attend the IAC meeting.

 

Thanks,

 

Joseph Caruso, CPA

Deputy Chief Auditor

The problem is that Leslie Rodriguez-Torres has pretty much gone into hiding to avoid any scrutiny or to explain her actions hiding behind FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) a Federal Law governing educational  information, or the usual "its a personnel matter". Even Hartford's Internal Auditors who are tasked with getting answers to financial questions are hitting a stone wall with Torres-Rodriguez

Hearing about a teacher who was attacked in her classroom at Noah Webster School was troubling. No investigation to figure out how the parent was buzzed in and was able to enter a building where many parents most likely feel their kids are secure. The parent, Cassandra Decosta was eventually arrested a few months after her attack and actually appeared in court yesterday. What would have happened if she had a weapon? According to staff members at the school that I spoke with, they stated they have 2 great security Officers in the school, but the number of guards was reduced down to two for budget cuts and it is almost nearly impossible to secure a school that size with just two Security Officers.

Even more troubling is the conditions described to me at Hartford High, where one teacher referred to Hartford High as a "powder keg ready to explode any second" This was  confirmed for me by police officers who are also very concerned going into Hartford High alone. Apparently a Hartford High Security Officer was assaulted at the school late last year and I am told he hasn't returned yet. That School Security Officer is also a retired Hartford Police Officer who was capable of handling himself as a Police Officer on the streets of Hartford until he was attacked by a group of "students" at Hartford High. In an ironic twist, one of the same students who was arrested for the assault on the SSO at Hartford High was again arrested yesterday for assaulting another student.yesterday, Feb 27th...the same juvenile that assaulted Security Officer Dufault...was arrested for another assault at one of the schools...

Here is an e-mail from another staff member:

"I was physically assaulted by a student several years ago years ago at HPHS. The damage I received affects me to this day, and I have been fighting a Workers Comp case ever since. I have never received so much as any word of concern from the Superintendent or the Board of Education. I have gone from having an average of 2 days of absence per year before the attack to over 40 days of absence per year afterwards.

Luke Cage asked above about Officer DuFault. He was attacked at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, taken down by a riot of students, kicked and stomped horribly, and was taken out by ambulance. He has not been back since.

According to the press release, the Superintendent stated only that, "No student was harmed." She did not mention Officer Dufault.

In the interim between the assault on me and DuFault, teachers throughout HPHS have been regularly assaulted, several have had bones broken in student assaults, many have had their lives threatened repeatedly.

Students have claimed their hallway hangouts in which mobs of students loiter in the halls, cussing out and verbally threatening and insulting any teacher who dares to pass. Nothing is ever done. Most teachers are afraid of coming to work. Administration always blames us and criticizes us when we make any attempt to intervene to get students back to class.

Our school, HPHS, is unsafe! "

And just as a sidenote, the teacher assaulted at Noah Webster Shool never even received as much as a courtesy call from the Superintendent or any member of the BOE. You don't treat people like this, especially if they are valued employees.

And to all of the members of the Hartford Board of Education who are upset when I call them "puppets", let me just ask, when was the last time you went to Hartford High , unannounced and walked through the halls to observe the conditions there, or has Leslie ordered you not to?

JANUS DECISION ARRIVES AT HPD, THIS COULD BE INTERESTING

At issue in the case are the laws in 22 States, which allow public unions to require that public employees who are not union members to pay so-called “agency” or “fair share” fees. The idea is that even public employees who are not members benefit from the collective bargaining of that union, and therefore should pay for the union’s representation. Without the ability of unions to charge these agency fees, unions would be spending a great deal of time and money negotiating contracts that benefit both members of unions and non-union members. This creates the problem of non Union "free riders" — workers who benefit from the union’s collective bargaining efforts but don't pay for them.

The Supreme Court blessed this arrangement in a 1977 case called  Abood v Detroit Board of Education in which the court found that public employees could be forced to pay for expenses associated with collective bargaining and other related activities, but not for political activities. Despite the court’s ruling in Abood, Mark Janus, a public employee who is not a member of a public union, claims that the state law allowing unions to require him to pay agency fees violates his First Amendment rights. Janus specifically argues that by forcing him to pay for union activity with which he disagrees, he is being compelled to speak for and associate with the union.

A large percentage of Union dollars is spent on lobbying efforts and political donations which the members may not necessarily agree with.

Janus appears to overturn the premise in Abood and now Public Employee Union members can drop out of paying Union dues.

 Many Police Officers are concerned about the potential legal counsel they would lose by dropping out of a Union, but apparently fraternal organizations such as the Fraternal Order of Police "FOP" offer legal  "buy in" programs for their members that in many cases are more effective than the Union representation at a much lower membership cost than the forced Union dues.

A Hartford Police Officer dropped out of the Union today and apparently he is not the first. Only time will tell if this will be a trend for government employees not happy with their Union representation.

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HOW DO WE STOP THE NONSENSE IN THE AGE OF #ME TOO?

Sexual harassment is wrong, actually any type of harassment , bullying or discrimination in the workplace or anywhere else is wrong.

How do we control the Jussie Smollett's of the world by filing false and frivolous complaints  to cover their own incompetence or shortcomings?

A couple of examples are coming out of the Hartford Police Department. The Officer Baerga complaint has been making the news- recently. The case revolves around a sexual harassment allegations perpetrated , allegedly, by Baerga's supervisor, Sergeant Andrew Rodney. Although I don't agree with the entire complaint, I think there is more than enough to say the complaint is credible. Even Sergeant Andrew Rodney as acknowledged many of the accusations in the complaint occurred.

Now we have another sexual harassment complaint coming out of HPD. This one seems to be looking to ride the coat tails of the doors already opened by Baerga. This one seems much less credible and appears to raise more questions than to encourage believability.

This also is highly suspicious for the timing. It was only after the complaining Officer was transferred out of her Community Service Officer position that she sat down and wrote the complaint. Why?. The complaint is against Captain Gabriel Laureano, the HPD Captain in charge of Patrol Services .  Although Laureano was just the messenger delivering the news to HPD Officer Mirella Gentry after Gentry's Lieutenant made the decision that her patrol performance as a CSO was less than adequate and it was time for a change.

On December, 20, 2018, Gentry was removed from her position as a CSO and was transferred back to Patrol. That was the same day that a southend male CSO was also transferred out of his spot and returned to patrol..

According to sources within HPD, the reason for Gentry's re-assignment was due to her extremely low productivity, not limited to no case numbers drawn, no traffic infractions and overall low community contacts for extended periods. Apparently a newly promoted Lieutenant was assigned to Gentry's area and was not satisfied with Gentry's performance and made the decision to move her. ( a female Lieutenant by the way, not that it makes any difference)

The performance statistics will be posted here as soon as I receive them

Apparently, Officer Gentry's transfer  suddenly caused her to recall back almost 15 years and come up with a claim that Officer Laureano, long before he became a Captain , had made "unwanted" sexual advances toward her. Apparently there is no record of these advances and they are just coming .

It is suspicious that over the years, no one was ever informed of Laureano's alleged abuse. Even more suspicious is the fact that Gentry had relationships with at least one high ranking HPD official and never mentioned it to him? I would think that she would have been comfortable enough to mention it during that relationship to someone who would have definitely been in the position to do something.

I in no way want to trivialize any sexual harassment complaint, but complaints that are made to further an agenda or cover for discipline, damage every person who makes a legitimate complaint after being a victim. I know it is a difficult issue, but there has to be a better way to file a complaint instead of waiting fifteen years and then launching. It is unfair to both the alleged victim as well as the alleged offender.

GENTRY Complaint by  on Scribd

Below is a recent acknowledgement of Laureano's efforts in the Community, submitted by HPD Union President John Szewczyk

SCN_0013 by on Scribd

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE HARTFORD SCHOOLS? CHAPTER 2

The flood gates are opening

After I posted last night with some information I had received from a source, I have received numerous e-mails and phone calls regarding terrible conditions for staff members and students inside Hartford Schools , all apparently being ignored by Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez and members of the Board of Education.

One caller advised me about a teacher who was assaulted in her school by a parent on December 23, 2018. The parent was eventually arrested and charged with numerous crimes, including the assault  on the parent for Assault 3rd Degree, Disorderly Conduct and 19 other counts of Risk of Injury to a Minor.

I was able to readily confirm that information through the State of Connecticut Judicial website and I am awaiting more information from the arrest reports. This is only  the beginning, please keep this information coming so that we can continue to expose the dangerous conditions for staff and students alike, within the Hartford Schools.

As a reminder DO NOT e-mail information from the Hartford Schools internal networks, that can all be tracked by  the Superintendent and her staff. Contact me on your own phone, block the number if you feel more comfortable to talk to me anonymously or text or e-mail me with information.

Thank You for doing your part to expose problems within the Hartford Schools.

I was also told by a High ranking Hartford Police official that the investigation with Jose Colon-Rivas is close to becoming a criminal matter. Does anyone have any more information on this? Is the accusation legit or is it another possible smear campaign to discredit someone that stopped playing ball in the Central Office?

SCN_0012  on Scribd

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE HARTFORD SCHOOLS?

Someone needs to take a serious look at this operation at the Hartford Schools. Sadly we know it won't be any of the puppets on the Board of Education.

When I start receiving numerous documents  regarding school operations, I know things are acting up. Last week I received several documents from a source including e-mails and internal memos detailing poor, dangerous conditions at schools, including Hartford High School.

One teacher I spoke with said that Hartford High is a "powder keg" ready to explode. The teacher detailed assaults on other staff members , teachers and security officers. They even related details about a student that was injured after they were thrown down a flight of stairs at Hartford High

Another of the documents I received was an e-mail a teacher had sent to other teachers detailing an assault on him as well as describing dangerous conditions throughout the school by students loitering and threatening teachers. Rather than the Administration address the concerns, they responded by threatening the teacher with discipline for using the network  to send the message,  in an e-mail sent by Hartford High Principal Anthony Brooks to admonish the teacher

Apparently , staff members have also recently had a meeting with the Superintendent to detail their concerns, but little or nothing has changed. Drug use in the hallways is apparently a regular occurrence and clouds of marijuana smoke are overlooked , all apparently part of the education process in Hartford.

Now today I received a call regarding the Chief Operating Officer Jose Colon-Rivas. The caller was suspicious because they had called the COO's Office and received cryptic responses as to his whereabouts and the caller got the impression that he was gone or had been terminated. After some checking, I found that Colon-Rivas has apparently been placed on "administrative suspension" for undisclosed reasons, possibly missing computers and equipment.

In addition, it appears that the Executive  Director of Security and Internal Investigations for the Hartford Schools, retired Connecticut State Police Major Alexander Rios, has also abruptly left his position and now, according to sources has started a new job with CREC.

Here is one of the memo's I received detailing problems in the Hartford Schools, more to come on this. If anyone has further information, please feel free to contact me. All information is kept confidential.

SCN_0011 by on Scribd

A WORTHWHILE EVENT

On Tuesday, February 26th from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Hands On Hartford’s Faces Of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau will present “Where the Heart Is: Four Journeys Through Homelessness”, at the Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street. The four outstanding speakers will share their stories and experiences: Where they came from, what happened in their lives that caused them to become homeless, what they learned on their journeys, and where their lives are today. This is a candid, open, honest presentation of mistakes, missteps, domino effects, and valiant efforts to regain control of their lives. It is also an eye-opening view into the bureaucracy of government at all levels, the pitfalls within the shelter system, and the struggle against the myths and misconceptions that stigmatize those whose lives have taken unexpected turns. The stories will surprise and shock, and will move many to tears and, in some cases, even laughter. No one will leave untouched by the power of their words, and will leave knowing this: Homelessness can happen to anyone.

The event—the first of its kind available and open to anyone in the city—is sponsored by the Hartford Public Library, Hammond Realty, and Pepsi, and is free and open to the public. The presentation is also appropriate—and educational—for youth ages 12 and up. The evening will begin at 5:30, allowing a half-hour for free refreshments and social time before the program begins at 6:00 p.m. with a stunning short video filmed in Hartford, followed by the speakers. The final 20-30 minutes will be devoted to an open mic question-and-answer session between the audience and the speakers.

Faces Of Homelessness has been invited to present more than 200 such speaking events, reaching thousands of audience members, all over the state of Connecticut for the past six years, and the requests continue to stream in from middle schools, public and private high schools, colleges and law schools, medical schools, faith groups of all religions, corporate groups, community, professional, and senior organizations, and government agencies at all levels. "

YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE CITY HALL. THE BAERGA TIMELINE IS COMING OUT

Hartford City Hall has been pretty silent over the sexual harassment complaint by Hartford Officer Kelly Baerga. There may very well be a good reason for it.

Part of it may be the unspoken support for the alleged  abuser, Hartford Police Sergeant Andrew Rodney. Rodney is also a member of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee from the 7th District, as well as a visible supporter for the re-election of Mayor Luke Bronin.

THE FULL BAERGA COMPLAINT MEMO IS BELOW AT THE END OF THIS POST

Although some, including LGBTQ activists, are attempting to portray the Hartford Police Department as a "toxic" environment, unsafe for female employees, the documents portray a different picture. The heavily redacted documents obtained by We the People through a Freedom of Information request paint a timeline for Baerga's complaint, much different  than we would be led to believe by City Hall..

Officer Baerga is also HPD's liaison to the LGBTQ community,

The heavily redacted documents  will be the subject of an FOI complaint I am filing challenging the City's claim that the redactions are legal, but in the interest of revealing information now, I am posting the heavily redacted pages.

Although we have been led to believe that HPD sat on Baerga's complaint for over half a year and did nothing, that is not true and the dated documents prove that is untrue.

Baerga's complaint was originally made to her supervisor , Lt. Paul West on or about May 28, 2018. Almost immediately Chief David Rosado instructed IAD Lt. Brandon O'Brien to open an immediate investigation into Baerga's allegations

SCN_0005 by on Scribd

In addition, the alleged abuser, Sergeant Andrew Rodney was immediately transferred out of the Recruiting Division to avoid contact with Officer Baerga. This was carried out by an order from Assistant Chief Ralph Medina on the same day he was made aware of the allegations. Medina's transfer order was carried out through an internal e-mail sent by Sgt. Brian Bowsza

SCN_0006 by on Scribd

Due to some strange City policy, the Baerga investigation was taken away from the trained investigators at the HPD Internal Affairs Division as Chief Rosado had ordered and instead was turned over to Cherese Chery, the city's Director of Human Resources. I am not sure what Chery's background is investigating similar complaints, but none the less, that is the City way.  The investigation sat in the HR Director's Office for roughly five months until on September 28, 2018, a report was forwarded to Assistant Chief Medina with her findings.

Despite most, if not all of Baerga's allegations being substantiated through the HR Director's "investigation", the  only recommendation was that " the results of the Investigation indicate an opportunity for sexual harassment prevention training" for Sergeant Rodney and Lieutenant West.

That's it,  a slap on the wrist and "retraining" for the abuser.

SCN_0007 by on Scribd

On December 21, 2018, HPD Assistant Chief Jason Thody referred the matter back to HPD internal Affairs Commander Lt. Kevin O'Brien for further investigation , above and beyond the recommendations of the HR Director. O'Brien was instructed to fully investigate the matter  for potential Code of conduct violations. This, in my opinion, is where the investigation should have resided from the start instead of the delays caused by City Hall intervening and adding an undue delay to Baerga's complaint

SCN_0008 by on Scribd

I am not clear why the policy requires the matter to be referred to the HR Director rather than the investigators at HPD actually conducting an investigation. This would seem to cause an undue delay to the facts actually coming out or more likely is it a way for City Hall to control the outcome?

More to come on this I am pretty sure as more layers of the onion get peeled back

Baerga Complaint by on Scribd

REALITY CHECK

This is just an example of how fast these situations can go bad.

 Luckily with body cams it is much easier to get the full perspective. This is the unsanitized version  of an Officer  Involved Shooting from Napa Valley California, all over a routine traffic stop, if there is such a thing as routine any more.

 I can't believe how calm the Officer remained, but I guess  that says a lot about her training. Stay safe Officer's

MAYOR BRONIN AND THE HARTFORD DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE, DISCRIMINATION IN ANY FORM IS NOT A HARTFORD VALUE

The Officer Baerga sexual harassment complaint has brought a sudden case of laryngitis to Hartford City Hall.

It is not unusual that many have lost their voices in a building that is quick to comment on everything else. Maybe it is an election year and people are worried about losing votes if they call out the accused offender. Maybe it might be because the complaint sat in City Hall for months with no action. Maybe it is because it involves a LGBTQ person and that is not as big of a deal and won't get the same headlines as if it were a racial issue.

Whatever the reason, wrong is wrong and the fact that  Mayor Bronin and the Hartford Democratic Town Committee has chosen to remain silent when the accused harasser is also a member of the Democratic Town Committee is also wrong.

I recently questioned a member of the Democratic Town Committee as to their silence and the response was that "Marc Dibella is the Town Chair"

Well let me ask , do Town Committee members answer to Marc Dibella or does he answer to them?

I think we all know the answer to that question.

Below is the list of current Hartford Democratic Town Committee members by District. If you can , message them through Facebook or call them and let them know  any form of discrimination can not be tolerated and we expect them to exercise their voices and stand for something.

Hartford Dtc List by on Scribd