The good men and women doing great work everyday are the actual foundation of the Hartford Police Department. It is not the Chief or Assistant Chiefs or Command Staff . That foundation is crumbling under Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody and his administration. Since Thody took over in April of 2019 , nearly 50 officers have quit, many of them minority and female officers..
It took the Hartford Police Department over a month to comply, but they eventually released a document I had requested detailing the data under the Freedom of Information Act
I had asked for the exit interview information on Hartford Police Officers that have resigned from the Hartford Police Department. I was hoping to see how many officers have left under the tenure of Jason Thody as Chief. The numbers even surprised me.
I knew it was bad, but I didn't think it was quite as bad as the numbers show. It is also very troubling to me the number of African Americans, Hispanics and women that have bailed. Much work had been put into minority recruitment by Thody's two predecessors, James Rovella and David Rosado. Thody has single handedly reversed that entire process faster than a Tahoe evading a guardrail crash.
Hartford needs to have a Police Department that reflects the demographics of the City they serve and at this point Hartford is the employment recruiter for every other Department that understands diversity and gladly welcomes disgruntled Hartford Officers looking for better grounds.
The loss of trained officers is an issue. The loss of losing qualified minority officers after the hiring and training process is a much bigger issue for HPD as well as the taxpayers that have made the investment in these officers. It is e4stimated that it may be upwards of $200,000 per officer to recruit, hire and train a Police Officer for their first year on the job, including salary and benefits
The details of why officers are leaving are also spelled out on the report. The majority seem to be over wages and benefits, but there also are some troubling comments that point to a deeper problem. Comments such as one officer claiming they were "setting him up for failure". Another officer claimed "I was encouraged by senior officers, Sergeants ,Lieutenants and Captains to leave from day one .I was told that things would not get better here and to leave as soon as possible". That must be encouraging to a new employee.
Another employee was quoted as saying they "didn't feel valued" another "didn't learn anything during FTO (Field Training Officer period) another officer "not feeling any support and select sergeants made work toxic instead of helping him", another "poor equipment, low morale" and the list goes on and on.
Now I know not everyone is always going to be happy, but these numbers seem to be extreme losses for a struggling Department tasked with patrolling a very violent City. The bleeding needs to stop , both literally and figuratively if Hartford is going to survive. VIEW THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT HERE https://www.scribd.com/document/503071155/Responsive-Records-3https://www.scribd.com/document/503071155/Responsive-Records-3
Great post Kevin. One of the primary reasons exit interviews should be conducted is to become aware of deficiencies improve the workplace. Thody was obviously aware of the max exodus and scathing exit interviews. I would ask, what steps has Thody and the command staff taken to rectify these deficiencies and improve the workplace? I’d venture to say absolutely nothing.
ReplyDeleteKevin, I have witnessed close up how much they want to silence you. Law suits, threats on cops that are willing to share important information to the people they are supposed to serve, and total disrespect for law—such as dragging feet on your FOI request and hiding embarrassing information about themselves. Kevin, you and I have some dandy arguments about politics. But I respect what you do for our city with your blog, the best source of information about this important part of our lives. Don’t let them beat you down. Keep fighting for us and the good cops—the majority the white shirts work so hard to silence.
ReplyDeleteWhen will we finally get to see Thody and the "white shirts" who "work so hard to silence" out of office? When?
DeleteThank you Bob. I probably don't say this enough , but I am very fortunate to have met you and become friends. Your support and advice (and sometime scolding) is greatly appreciated, my friend.
ReplyDelete