Wednesday, July 1, 2020

SERIOUSLY THEA, "JUST A SCRATCH?"

They just keep digging the hole deeper and deeper. New documents have been obtained by "We the People" today showing that  Hartford's Police Chief Jason Thody, his Assistant Chief Raphael Medina and Hartford's Chief Operating Officer have been far less than truthful in their depiction of Thody's Evading crash in the Town of Chester on May, 31, 2020.

They all depicted the crash as "minor scratches" and "minor paint transfer", They further went on to explain Thody's evasion from the accident scene because the damage was less than $1,000.00. There is no provision in Connecticut State law to give a free pass to anyone, including a Police Chief , when the damage is less than $1,000.00. The operator MUST stop and report the accident to Police.

Well, even though Montanez, Thody and Medina all put in their reports that the damage was less than $1,000.00, documents in the form of the invoice from Friendly's Autobody where the repairs were performed, itemize the amount as $3324.00. As you can see, much more than a minor scratch repaired as they originally claimed when I first reported on Thody's crash.

It is also somewhat suspicious that the invoice was only submitted  to the insurance company yesterday after a Police Lieutenant was at Friendly's Monday trying to get the invoice, or should I call it arm twisting? The Middlesex County States Attorney handling the investigation may actually call it witness tampering.  Are the amounts accurate as listed now or was that a compromise to make the band of three look less like liars and soften the impact?

At this point who can we actually believe and trust? I would say none of them


CHIEF THODY AND ASSISTANT CHIEF MEDINA APPARENTLY LESS THAN TRUTHFUL IN CRASH COVERUP

BRONIN'S HAND PICKED POLICE CHIEF

The documents and information are coming in and apparently Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody and his Assistant Chief Raphael Medina are being less than truthful in reporting Thody's May 31,2020 crash.

In an e-mail sent last night by Chief Operating Officer Thea Montanez to Councilmembers, Montanez stated that she had received  an invoice from Friendly's Autobody for the vehicle repair for "approximately" $3300.00 Approximately? Does the City of Hartford now pay "approximate" amounts. How do you deposit an "approximate" amount? Do they have the actual amount or not? Where is the actual invoice and insurance documents?

Montanez also states in her e-mail that she apparently doesn't agree with the repairs. She states in her e-mail "that ($3300.00) seems high based on the limited amount of damage, and so as part of my review of auto repair expenses, we will be using photos from this case to get other assessments of repair costs.

Shouldn't an estimate have been the first order of business before Thody dropped the car at Friendly's the day after the crash to quickly get it repaired. Was that in hopes that no one would notice? Does the City of Hartford have accepted protocols on how to conduct business, and isn't that Montanez's function to make sure proper protocol and policy and procedures are followed, or is it her role to cover-up bad deeds before the Council or the public find out?

And which photos are you going to use to get other  "assessments", the photos Thody claims he took himself? Where are the photos from the Crime Scene Division (CSD) that normally accompany any cruiser accident. Or maybe the Chief didn't want CSD involved because it wouldn't have been kept quiet?

It also really makes me question  Assistant Chief Medina's (or whoever wrote the cover up report) and their investigative skills. How would a trained investigator write a report quoting a damage report amount of "less than $1,000.00" without actually seeing any repair documents. Isn't that the first thing you would ask to see before going out on a limb and quoting a dollar amount.

A dollar amount that I might add would be pretty easy to eventually verify or discount . I think anyone that has had body work done knows that even a plastic grill is most likely more than $1,000 to replace , not including labor charges. But I guess when you just take it for granted that you are dealing with stupid  people who just don't care, the coverup is easy.

Well,  Chief Thody, Ms. Montanez, Mayor Bronin and Assistant Chief Medina and Councilmembers, we aren't nearly as ignorant as you think we are and your actions are disgusting. Ms. Montanez, do your job and end the cover-up. For whatever reason you are willing to continue to put out false information is beyond me. Have you ever heard the saying that "the cover-up is worse than the crime". Montanez, Thody and Medina are digging the hole deeper with every lie you type. End this charade and start telling the truth, that is what you all are paid for by the people of Hartford. Every lie you tell continues to erode the trust and confidence we have in the Hartford Police Department.

And by the way, when do we get the phone records and the paperwork submitted to the Insurance Company or are those already part of a criminal investigation? ( I can't wait for those documents)

Mayor Bronin, it is time for you to start doing some housecleaning and get HPD back in order before it gets much worse.

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY- IS HARTFORD'S CHIEF THODY ABOVE THE LAW?



Hartford's Mayor Luke Bronin knows all the buzz words when angry constituents show up on his front porch. Yet he seems to have lost his voice when it comes to the actions of his hand picked Police Chief Jason Thody

Has anyone heard Bronin speak out about Thody's evading an accident scene?: Has anyone heard any Hartford City Council members, besides Josh Michtom, asking questions or attempting to gather the facts? Michtom is the only person who has called me asking questions. Bronin has apparently told Councilmembers "there is nothing to it". The facts will show that is the furthest thing from the actual truth

Instead Bronin and his staff seem more intent on putting out false information to continue the Thody coverup. "Oh, it was just a minor accident" or"there was very little damage" or the one that "there was less than a $1000 in damage" from Assistant Chief Medina's post dated IAD report. None  of that matters according to Connecticut State Law, unless of course Thody has placed himself above the law, unlike the little people who have to follow and obey those same laws.

Just to be clear, here is one of the Statutes that would, or should apply to Thody's behavior:
Sec. 14-224. Evasion of responsibility in operation of motor vehicles.  (3) Each operator of a motor vehicle who is knowingly involved in an accident that causes injury or damage to property shall at once stop and render such assistance as may be needed and shall give such operator's name, address and operator's license number and registration number to the owner of the injured or damaged property, or to any officer or witness to the injury or damage to property, and if such operator of the motor vehicle causing the injury or damage to any property is unable to give such operator's name, address and operator's license number and registration number to the owner of the property injured or damaged, or to any witness or officer, for any reason or cause, such operator shall immediately report such injury or damage to property to a police officer, a constable, a state police officer or an inspector of motor vehicles or at the nearest police precinct or station, and shall state in such report the location and circumstances of the accident causing the injury or damage to property and such operator's name, address, operator's license number and registration number.

In case you don't like reading full statutes, here are the imperative points:

the operator of a motor vehicle who is knowingly involved in an accident that causes injury or damage to property shall at once stop and render such assistance as may be needed and shall give such operator's name, address and operator's license number and registration number to the owner of the injured or damaged property, or to any officer or witness to the injury or damage to property,


You might also notice that no where in that Statute does it mention a threshhold of $1,000. No where. just part of the coverup by Thody and I might add , by his silence or misinformation Luke Bronin. Assistant Chief Medina also threw that in his so called Internal Affairs report. Maybe it is from ignorance of the law, but I kind of doubt it

If Luke Bronin is really interested inj gathering the facts and maintaining the public's trust in his Police Chief and his Police Department, he needs to start answering questions truthfully. Why did the Autobody shop that repaired Thody's car apparently refuse to turn over the reapir records and billing to Hartford's City Auditors when they requested them Friday? If it was only $1000, show us the bill and prove it. I am being told it was much cloder to $7000.00 if not more. Where is the paper trail of the text mesaages that Thody claims caused him to crash, even a screen shot showing the date and time to coincide with his explanation. Where is the phone record of his notification of COO Thea Montanaz, who according to Medina's report claims she was at home when Thody called. I'm being told a much different version but the phone records wil show the time and even as much as where she was on her phone. Thatg's technology you know, we wi9ll be able to tell, lets say was she actually at home  , or in Vermont or lets even say somewhere like Chester, CT..

There are many more questions that I am sure will be coming out and hopefully some answers .

 Whether Luke Bronin gets out in front of this to build trust or we wait for the answers from the Connecticut State Police and the Middlesex County States Attorney is up to Bronin . It is entirely up to Luke Bronin whether he proves he is just another talking political puppet or is he really a leader willing to confront the difficult decisions head on.

In this current climate of Police mistrust, Hartford's people deserve that .