BE BOB'S GUEST

I am proud to be one of the hosts for a reception for Mayoral candidate Bob Killian tomorrow evening

Tomorrow night at 5:30PM we will be hosting Bob at the Tavern Downtown for a meet and greet  for Hartford people (and  others) Everyone is welcome to take a few minutes and meet Bob and ask him the questions that you may have on your mind. Donations are welcome, (it is politics), but they aren't required. Just your presence is enough, get to know the candidate

Stop by 201 Ann Ucello Street, next to the Russian Lady, and be our guest for an evening with BOB beginning at 5:30. Light refreshments, beer wine and soda  provided.

 Thank you to the Tavern Downtown, owner  Jerry Fornarelli and the staff of the Tavern for their hospitality

DELIVERING A STEAMING PILE OF CRAP

 

 

That's a rough title, but that is exactly what Mayor Segarra dumped on the desks of the Hartford Media people last Friday at 4:00PM in the afternoon.

 That pile of crap was the sixth month Fire Chief's Advisory Report commissioned by Segarra after numerous problems within the Hartford Fire Department, culminating with the first Line of Duty Death of a Hartford firefighter in decades.

The report was full of finger pointing and even some back slapping by the retired Chief's,  even going so far as trying to decide who was the best Chief. The report was very short on any solutions though.

I was a little surprised that Chief Rovella would even allow his name to be included on such a flawed report. I also realize who he works for and it wasn't his free choice to be included .  Rovella is one that always has a vision and is not short on solutions that make sense. The rest of the group is not.  I have heard a lot of positive things though regarding retired Chief Carter, but I have never personally met the man and was not here when he was Chief.

 The rest were predictable. Can anyone in their right mind say that  alcohol and drug abuse are not a problem within HFD. How many high profile do we need to see played out in the media? How many Doug Caldwell's do we need to see drunk in firehouses and creating public disturbances? How many firefighters do we need to see under arrest after gunplay with handguns while partying? If drugs are being dealt out of firehouses, might we have a problem?

Maybe the former Chief's might have issues with their own addictions and choose not to take a hardline approach against the very same behavior they have been involved in and may still be involved in. To ignore the problem is to condone the behavior.

 We also all know the animosity between the current Deputy Chief of Training Dan Nolan and both the current Chief as well as previous Chiefs A major portion of the report was to place blame for the Department's problems on Training and Nolan.

I have to ask who were the Chief's of the Department and where is the disciplinary reports or e-mails or documents, commonly called progressive discipline in the Labor world. The answer is simple, there is none. The Department Chiefs are responsible for monitoring the Department's performance , identifying problems and taking corrective action. If you have been asleep at the switch  for years, you can't suddenly try to cover your ass and point the finger of blame.

 The problems at HFD are much deeper than just the training Division. Where was the portion about Worker's Comp abuse? I must have missed that page. When you have a firefighter that has spent much of his career out injured but is well enough to carry a gun and shoot a man in the driveway of a home he is renovating, you have a problem. That wasn't caused by training.

When you have Lieutenant's fist fighting at a fire scene, your zero tolerance policy for workplace violence doesn't seem to be being taken seriously. I don't think the Training Division teaches hand to hand combat, so I don't think they can be blamed.

When a brand new ladder truck sits in the repair garage for months because no one is monitoring payment of bills, that is a problem. I am not sure of the entire structure of HFD, but I really would be surprised if fiscal management comes under the Training Division.

 There was a lot of discussion calling for another Assistant Chief position to be created, but there was no discussion of the time and effort wasted creating a sham position for Terry Waller.

One of the claims was that live fire training was not happening as frequently as it should. Last I heard, Chief Huertas would not approve funds for hay and other materials for the live burn scenarios, so is that the responsibility of the Deputy Chief of Training. Last I knew thy could no longer print money at the Fire Training Academy to pay bills.

The fact that fit tests were not performed on Scott Air Bottles as required because the machine was broken was never mentioned in the report. That seems like a major problem that at least warranted a mention in the report. Nothing, training again? I doubt it

 It was also interesting to note Chief Teale's mea culpa when he wanted it noted in the report that he was excluding himself   from any discussion when it came to the death of Firefighter Kevin Bell, stating that Bell was a relative of his. Did he make that same proclamation when it came to the hiring of Bell or his nepotism all OK as long as the spotlight isn't shining on it?

 It just seems interesting that Mayor Segarra made the choice to bring back these men to try to solve the problems within HFD. Especially when you consider that for the most part the are the same men that began or allowed the decay of the Hartford Fire Department. Reading this report will show you the lack of vision or the ability to conduct change of these so called leaders of the Hartford Fire Department.

 I think much more would have been accomplished if Segarra recruited the assistance of respected Fire Service leaders from outside of Hartford. Leaders that didn't have the need to cover their own tracks and bad deeds and really wanted to get to the truth to prevent any more LODD within HFD

To see a copy of the Hartford Fire Department Task Force’s final report, visit: http://bit.ly/1Gaw2fi

TRANSPARENCY CAN NOT BE A ONE-WAY STREET

Recently, the Hartford Police Department made a big production of their quickness in releasing information regarding an officer involved shooting in a Blue Hills neighborhood. Mayor Segarra quickly jumped on board and touted his transparency. I would gamble a guess and say Segarra had nothing to do with it, it had James Rovella written all over it and was probably thought out well in advance by the Chief.

Segarra can't seem to manage his way out of a paperbag, never mind successfully defuse the potential powderkeg that HPD had on their hands. Under Rovella's leadership the shooting was handled properly and no public disturbance was felt.

 But it is relatively easy to be transparent in textbook type situations. If the situation was entirely different, would the information be as forthcoming? If there were clear questions  regarding the officer's probable cause, would Mayor Segarra have been as quick to support HPD?

Lets move to another racial incident where "transparency " has not been as forthcoming. And let me say up front, I know Chief Rovella is in a tough spot on some of these decisions, but it doesn't make it right. I posted here a while back regarding Hartford Police Officer Kamil Stachowitz. Stachowitz in a drunken rage recently at the Foxwood's Casino began yelling the "N" word at a  Foxwoods tribal police officer, who had been called to remove an unruly Stachowitz. During the altercation Stachowitz repeatedly yelled the "N" word and even went so far as telling the African American tribal officer  "my grandfather used to own slaves like you".

After learning of the incident, I attempted to obtain the incident report from the Foxwoods  Police Department. After numerous phone calls to Foxwoods, the tribal Police finally acknowledged the incident and provided me with their case number. They refused to give me the report though, claiming that HPD asked them not to release it to me because they were conducting an internal administrative investigation. Foxwoods told me they had forwarded a copy of the incident report to HPD .

I requested the report on at least three occasions from HPD through Deputy Chief Foley to no avail. Detective Ursula Wiebusch who handles the Department's FOI requests would not give me a specific denial. All she would mention on her e-mails is that the report was part of an ongoing administrative investigation.

There are several very specific exemptions under the FOI law when an agency can refuse to release  public documents. Open Administrative investigations is not one of them. Documents as part of an "ongoing criminal investigation" can be withheld.  Since HPD has no jurisdiction in Ledyard or at Foxwoods, there is no chance of HPD's administrative investigation resulting in criminal charges. Specifically, this is the exemption HPD is apparently trying to use: Records of law enforcement agencies not otherwise available to the public which records were compiled in connection with the detection or investigation of crime,

 I understand collective bargaining and Union nonsense, but why would the Union or the Department try to protect a racist cop?

The scary part in this is that Stachowitz apparently went off sick under the Employee Assistance Program  (EAP) when the incident first came to light. I guess alcoholism is an illness under ADA( American's with Disabilities Act). It's a convenient dodge to buy time . Since that time Stachowitz has since returned to regular duty as a Hartford Police Officer complete with a badge and gun out in the public. He is currently assigned to TeleServe, HPD's front desk area, which is also the HPD version of the penalty box for bad boys and girls.

The problem with that is that Stachowitz last week was taken out of TeleServe and used in a regular  patr0ol car on the streets of Hartford, racist attitudes and all. One high ranking official at HPD also said that Stachowitz is eligible for overtime and there is no way of stopping that. What will happen if he is working a PJ at Walmart and assaults a black or Puerto Rican  alleged shoplifter. What happens if he is working a road job and gets involved in an altercation similar to the one we saw last year with the Taser deployment? Will the community give him the benefit of the doubt?

Will the community just accept the situation and continue their trust and confidence in HPD. In the current climate I would say probably not. Too many people are looking for a reason to light the fuse on that powderkeg, and with known racists like Officer Stachowitz on the force, they have every right to be concerned.

The HPD Union needs to not protect racist , bad cops. They have apparently provided legal representation for the racist Stachowitz at all of his interviews. Maybe it is time for the Moral Monday group to stage a protest on the street in front of 253 High Street at HPD Headquarters That's a protest for a cause that is not abstract to Hartford, we have a proven racist cop in our midst and he needs to be gone. Stachowitz has no business wearing the uniform and badge that all of the other honorable men and women of HPD wear  everyday as they serve our neighborhoods with respect.

HPD Stachowitz FOI0001

WOODEN DECIDES TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR HARTFORD

"Just keep talking, I  can't hear you with my headphones on" 

 

According to sources within the Hartford Democratic Town Committee, Council President Shawn Wooden  has informed DTC Chairman Marc Dibella that he will not be seeking re-election. Wooden has had a very difficult year and has been widely criticized by Hartfordite's as being "out of touch" with his constituents as well as his waffling on the Stadium deal. Wooden was also criticized for his condescending attitude toward many of his constituents, especially those that disagreed with him publicly.

Wooden's political start was also an issue with many people after he originally announced his candidacy for Mayor years ago  and then backed out after an announcement  apparently orchestrated by Governor Malloy. The deal for Wooden to drop out was never fully realized after Pedro Segarra apparently backed out of his portion of the deal, but that was after the election so the deal was already sealed.


UPDATE: 9:00pm My knowledge of Hartford politics doesn't go back far enough apparently.. Wooden's start in elected politics in Hartford wasn't his ill fated Mayoral run, it was actually  his ill fated campaign against  Senator Eric Coleman 15 or 20 years ago, where he suffered the same fate he did in his latest run against Coleman- defeat. Actually he dropped out when the race became heated, something he might have been wise to do in last falls challenge again of  Senator Coleman.

For history sake, make note that Pedro Segarra does not have the title "Judge" before his name, and most likely never will

PAY BACK IS A B***H

I started getting some caricatures e- mailed to me last week. They appear to be by someone very artistic by the way,  I would imagine that it is someone disgruntled with the Segarra campaign . The cartoons raise some funny issues and they can be followed at https://twitter.com/SosoCampaign

 I have posted a couple here, but check out the rest if you have time. I am not sure why the female in the drawings is called "Cindy". It apparently is a reference to Segarra's campaign spokesperson Shelly Sindland who sometimes refers to herself as Cindy Crawford. The male in the caricatures is apparently intended to be Segarra's campaign manager.

Enjoy

 

 

THE RIGHT TO BE A MORON

Hartford's latest Moron

 

Occasionally I think we all need a reminder what a great country we live in. The picture above is your daily reminder for Friday June 19, 2015. This idiot is standing in the roadway on Airport Road to warn approaching  drivers of an HPD checkpoint ahead As someone who has had a relative lost to a drunk driver, actually a wrong way driver on I-91 several years ago, I fully understand the devastation a few drinks behind the wheel can cause.

 

 

In the case of my relative, it was a unique situation. I had a cousin who was totally deaf. Karen eventually met the man of her dreams. David was also totally deaf and they got along extremely well. It was always very interesting to watch them communicating through sign language and reading lips and they both seemed very happy and they eventually got married and had two children. David eventually was hored by the Post Office at the Weston Street Post Office. He worked nights in an area that specifically hired hearing impaired people die the nose in the area.

David had left work one night after his shift, headed home to his wife and children. It was David's misfortune to encounter a wrong way driver headed South on I-91 in the Northbound lane. The drunk had recently left a bar in Sprongfiweld and collided with David head on, killing him instantly. As is usually the case , the drunk survived


This moron pictured above, identified through sources as Steven Schafer, apparently appreciates his right to free expression along with his associate Michael Picard who was also holding signs along Airport Road. Expression tha they are both  free to exercise no matter how irresponsible or offensive it is. The swastika is an interesting touch and I am not sure how that strengthens their message. As a moron, he clearly doesn't understand the symbolism that symbol  and the deep hurt and feelings it provokes.

The moron was at a DUI checkpoint earlier this evening on Airport Road in Hartford. The checkpoint was held in conjunction with MADD and several mothers an family members who lost children to drunk drivers were there. I am not sure what Mr. Picard's message is or was. Is he condoning drunks killing children? Is he maybe offering support for the Holocaust and the deaths of Jews.

Whatever the message is, he is wrong and the case of DUI fatalities, dead wrong.

But once again , everyone has the right to be a moron, even Mr. Picard . So Mr. Moron Picard, next time you get the idea to warn drunks on the road, try to remember the story of Karen  and David, and maybe remember all of the Jews killed during the Holocaust.

I also can't help but wonder how your family would react if you were run down and killed by a drunk driver while out there pulling your crazy stunt.