HARTFORD CHIEF THODY ACCIDENT NOW BEING INVESTIGATED BY CONNECTICUT STATE POLICE AND MIDDLESEX COUNTY STATES ATTORNEY

Statement from the Connecticut State Police issued tonight regarding Thody's crash:

Stay tuned as this develops

MAYOR BRONIN, IT IS TIME TO WALK THE WALK ON THODY CRASH

As the saying  goes, talk is cheap. Hartford's Mayor can't just stand on his front porch when confronted with concerns over the Hartford Police Department and give lip service until he can safely get back inside the confines of his home.

Mayor Bronin, if you want to preserve confidence in the Hartford Police Department and maintain your own integrity, if that exists, you need to act swiftly.

A full investigation into the facts of Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody's crash of his City Vehicle should have already have been ordered by you. In case you haven't been following the news, police relations are at a critical tipping point and your failure to move quickly and decicively to get to the truth could be detrimental to Police/Community relations in Hartford.

Why was the City car in Chester on a Sunday evening? Who was in the car with him and what is the identity of the passenger? If Thody did actually call the Connecticut State Police as he claims, his cell phone records should already be on Bronin's desk. I am sure the Connecticut State Police would be more than willing to provide the recordings of that call to Bronin if they actually exist. ( I am not a gambler, but I would take that bet that there was no call made)

Where are the internal HPD documents to prove that Thody followed accepted HPD procedures as required? Who was the shift Lieutenant that was required to be notified after any HPD officer has interactions with an outside Police agency. Where was the CIR ( report) as required after any City vehicle accident? The incident report claims COO Thea Montanez was notified after the accident, How and when did she document the incident, maybe as a first hand witness?

If  Thody did call CSP as he claims, the recording would be very interesting to hear. What did Thody relate to them to get them to decline responding? And where are the documents submitted to the HPD Fleet manager to facilitate repairs and notifications or did Thody just take the vehicle to a Southend towing company vendor , an HPD contracted tow company to try to get the repairs completed "under the radar" quickly? Where are the photographs taken by the HPD Crime Scene Division to document the damage?

Too many questions for either myself or anyone else to maintain trust in Chief Thody's leadership of HPD. Mayor, it is within your power and obligation to resolve these questions and if you are any kind of leader with integrity you will already be well  underway to be answering these questions and not approving a coverup to protect your allies. I have confidence in Commissioner Rovella that he is already working to maintain the integrity and reputation of his agency, and Mayor Bronin needs to do the same. I have many of the answers to my own questions already and it isn't pretty. Much more to come on this, rest assured.

IS ANYONE PAYING ATTENTION ?

Hartford Police Crime Stats as of June 20, 2020

I know most everyone is preoccupied withy Covid-19 and trying to get back to normal. In the meantime Hartford is in a serious crime crisis.

By their own admission and documents, homicides in Hartford are up 33% and shootings and shooting victims are up over 45%.

What is the plan and what is being done to combat these numbers?

What is the plan Chief Thody , Mayor Bronin, and Hartford City Council? A simple question and Hartford deserves answers

HPD CHIEF THODY CRASHES CITY VEHICLE

I today obtained a Hartford Police incident report for HPD case number 20-16619. Although I had requested the report through an FOI request to HPD, they did not provide it. The report was obtained through "alternative means".

The report details a crash by Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody on May 31, 2020 while he was driving his City of Hartford vehicle, a 2019 Chevy Tahoe.

The report, written by Thody's Chief of Staff at the time, Lieutenant Brian Bowsza, The report states  "on the above date and time", but no time is noted. The narrative states that  Thody was on Route 154 in Chester , Connecticut when "the vehicle"  momentarily crossed the right lane boundary marker and made contact with the guardrail.

There is no mention of damage estimates in Bowsza's report, but sources familiar with the crash estimated that repairs would be in excess of $5,000.

The report further states that the "Connecticut State Police was immediately notified, but declined to respond or provide a case number". That sounds a little odd, but it is easy enough to verify with the Connecticut State Police as far as incident reports, Dispatch entries and actual phone recordings. Much more on that in a future post.

In the meantime, this incident raises more questions than answers. Why did it take almost 13 days for a report to be generated by Bowsza. Hartford's 911 Dispatch Center's records apparently show that the case number wasn't requested until June 12, 2020.

Is the Chief allowed to override policy and procedure and Connecticut State law on reporting an accident? Why is there no mention of the Headquarters Lieutenant being notified as required if there was any interaction with another Police Agency such as CSP? Why was the Crime Scene Division not requested to take photographs of the damage as is normally done with a police vehicle accident?

Who else was in the vehicle with Thody and what City business was being conducted in Chester Connecticut at approximately 6:00PM on a Sunday evening. Was alcohol potentially involved or what "distracted" Thody to veer and hit the guardrail?

Much more to come on this I am sure. Another case of leadership by example at HPD.

FROM HPD: ANOTHER FATAL ACCIDENT

HARTFORD, CONN. - (June 25, 2020) On Thursday, June 25, 2020 at approximately 3:21a.m., patrol officers responded to a serious motorcycle collision in the area of 500 Hudson Street.

Officers located a seriously injured 28-year-old male and seriously injured 22-year-old female on the roadway alongside a motorcycle. The male and female were transported to the Hartford Hospital Emergency Room by Aetna ambulance.

 The male was later pronounced deceased at Hartford Hospital. The female was listed in serious, but stable condition.

The crashed motorcycle, a blue 1999 Yamaha, was the only vehicle involved. Detectives from the Crime Scene Division responded to the scene and assumed control of the investigation. Preliminary investigation of the crash indicates that the motorcycle was traveling northbound in the area of 500 Hudson Street.

Video footage appears to indicate that the motorcycle operator lost control and struck a light pole located on the east side of Hudson Street. Both the male operator and female passenger were ejected from the motorcycle.

 Further reconstruction and investigation of the incident is being conducted. The deceased motorcycle operator has been identified as Carlos Alexis Rivera, of South Windsor, CT. Anyone who may have witnessed or have footage of the incident is asked to call CSD Detective Eric Lemke at 860-757-4125, or the HPD anonymous tip line at 860-722-TIPS (8477)