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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

IS MAYOR BRONIN ALSO BANKRUPT?

Mayor Luke Bronin appears to be bankrupt of any solutions or strategies to turn Hartford around. I am convinced that since he took office on day one, his only strategy was to move toward bankruptcy to bust Hartford's unions and balance the budget and clear a deficit on the backs of Hartford's employees.

I think he has partially succeeded since our Police and Fire Department are both on the verge of a major crisis. HPD is well over a hundred officers short and severely understaffed. Last Saturday alone the midnight shift had almost ten officers on overtime. That is close to half of the officers on duty at the time  (minimum staffing is apparently 21 officers). On Sunday, almost one quarter of the HPD officers were on overtime.

The previous weekend, the special events detail for the Circus at the XL Center and the Yard Goats game were understaffed by 14 officers, about half of the entire detail. How do you think that will float when public safety is an issue for people coming to the Dunkin Donuts Park because the Police are unable to staff the events?

HFD is in the same position facing upwards of 40 seasoned firefighters ready to bail before Jul;y 1st. 

Currently HPD may be facing an exodus of almost 40 officers eligible to leave and in addition, sources  within HPD have told me that anywhere from 20 to 40 officers are pursuing opportunities with other agencies  and towns and have requested information from the City as to their benefits if they were to leave.

In case Mayor Bronin is too busy campaigning for himself and others across the State to realize this, Hartford is about to face a huge Public Safety crisis. Actually, we are already in a crisis, it is only going to get worse, much worse , as the summer months approach.

 Luke is bankrupt on any solutions or leadership to get Hartford back on a sustainable footing and I think that has become clearly evident to anyone paying attention. His threats of bankruptcy for the City are most like a ploy to pressure the State into coughing up the needed funds to bail Hartford out. It would be disastrous to file for bankruptcy, as well as immoral, to file without  doing anything and everything possible to avoid it.

Take a moment and think back, what has Luke Bronin done to change the systemic problems in Hartford. Does the word "NOTHING" come to mind. Sure he laid off numerous low end, lower paid employees to bolster his argument to the Union's that they needed to make concessions and be part of the solution....or else! But at the same time he loaded up the opposite end of City staffing with numerous salaries approaching or over $100K a year.

His Youth job Corp might have been a good idea, but who knows, we will probably never see realistic numbers on that program

Bronin's tendency to blame the City's problems on its employees is not doing anything to build our City or its neighborhoods. If anything, just the opposite if we lose more dedicated and hardworking employees who feel their benefits and financial security are in imminent jeopardy.

If Luke thinks our Police Officers and Firefighter's are riding the City of Hartford gravy train, I would urge him to run down Franklin Avenue with one of those dedicated officers as some lunatic with a gun is firing back, after they just shot a couple people in broad daylight on a busy street. Maybe he could follow a couple police officers as they run into an occupied apartment building filled with thick black choking smoke as they try to rescue residents, ending up in the hospital themselves for their heroic efforts. That is what our overpaid public servants do, day in and day out Mayor Bronin.

Maybe, just Maybe Mayor, instead of playing the political games to advance your own career, you could come up with solutions to help the people that voted for you. Maybe it is time to roll up your sleeves to actually get to work, and not just as a gimmick when you saunter out to the podium at  your dog and pony shows. (It would be interesting to see who Luke's PAC just paid  $7,000 in direct mailings for in February)
 https://seec.ct.gov/eCrisReporting/Data/Attachment/Unassigned/SEEC20_April_10_Filing_49422.PDF

Why haven't we filed a lawsuit against the State of Connecticut to force them to pay their statutory requirements under PILOT. Paying only 35 or 40 percent of what they owe us is not right. Maybe everyone from Hartford should only pay 35% of their DMV registrations when they come due. Hey, it is only fair, if the State of Connecticut can do it, why shouldn't we?

And a PILOT lawsuit is a court filing that would do a lot more for the City of Hartford than the damage any bankruptcy ever would. And it might just force the State's hand instead of threatening them with bankruptcy.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

SUSPECT ARRESTED IN FRONT STREET SHOOTOUT

Hartford Police officers were dispatched to 24 Front Street this morning on the report of shots fired.

Upon HPD's arrival, officers located a 2010 Ford Fusion with multiple bullet holes in it parked at the entrance to the Front Street parking garage. The victim detailed to officers that she had been involved in an argument with here "friends" boyfriend. The boyfriend removed a firearm from his waistband and fired 12 rounds at her vehicle. He apparently needs to spend more time at the range,  since only 7 of the 12 rounds actually struck the vehicle.

Based upon the victims information , the suspect was identified and HPD contacted him. The suspect and his girlfriend agreed to return to the scene where HPD conducted a felony motor vehicle stop and the suspect was placed under arrest.

The suspect, identified as Austin Treadwell, 28, of 20 Front Street, Apt 318 was arrested and charged with numerous charges, including carrying a pistol without a permit, unlawful discharge of a firearm, Reckless endangerment 1st degree, Weapons in a Motor vehicle, Criminal Possession of a high capacity magazine, Criminal Mischief 1st Degree.

Treadwell had apparently disposed of the weapon, a 40 caliber pistol in East Hartford before returning to the scene. The weapon was recovered through the efforts of HPD.


Thursday, May 4, 2017

MAYOR BRONIN "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH"



On April 5th I posted about false claims directed at me during a community meeting by Mayor Bronin. You can read that posting about the meeting here :http://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-sympathies-to-mayor-bronin.html

Bronin claimed that I was being critical of his hiring of a new communications person, at the same time he had laid off lifeguards for Hartford's indoor pools. Bronin told the people in attendance that I was upset because I had applied for the communications position and he wouldn't hire me. In retrospect, it is probably a good thing I never applied because I would most definitely have quit by now.

As I had stated in the April 5th posting, Bronin had come into my hospital room at Mount Sinai Hospital where I was going through physical rehabilitation after a stroke in July of 2015. Bronin, who was running for Mayor at the time was trying to get my support for his campaign. I told him that I was already supporting retired Probate Judge Bob Killian and that wasn't going to change, Before leaving Bronin said that if I changed my mind, there would "be a spot for me" if he won. If I remember the conversation correctly, he asked me where "I could see myself" and I believe I said  "in Communication's".

That was the end of it for me, There was no application, no submitting a resume, NOTHING.

I think Bronin knew he was lying, as he had to have known I never applied for anything, but it was an attempt to discredit a critic of his in public. Typical politics.

Again to quote Mark Twain, "If you always tell the truth, you never need to remember the lies". Good advice for Mayor Bronin.

The truth is I never applied for anything with Bronin as evidenced by the FOI request below. The truth is Mayor Bronin "You can't handle the truth". And Luke,  you still have my sympathies for being in so far over your head.

My FOI request for the application Mayor Bronin claims I submitted:

And the response from City Hall receive today:

"No records were found", so who is telling the truth Mayor Bronin? That "transparency you campaigned on can be a double edge sword. Maybe it is  time for Mayor Bronin to take a trip to the Mark Twain House.



Wednesday, April 26, 2017

HPD RELEASES IAD REPORT ON EXCESSIVE FORCE ACCUSATION

On Saturday, June 4, 2016 Officers of the Hartford and West Hartford Police Departments and Connecticut State Police engaged in a motor vehicle pursuit that began in Hartford and ended with the arrest of the driver and his passenger in West Hartford. The pursuit began when a Hartford Police Officer determined that the car in question was stolen. When officers attempted to stop the car the driver sped away and led police on a chase through several residential streets in Hartford. When the pursuit reached West Hartford, and after the police deployed “stop sticks,” the stolen car was brought to a halt. In the course of arresting both occupants of the stolen vehicle, officers used force-including the use of a TASER-to affect the arrests. Both arrestees suffered visible facial injuries at some point.

Preliminary review of the incident and available evidence raised serious concerns of possible excessive force used by some of the officers. As a result, the Hartford Police Department launched an immediate internal investigation on Sunday June 5, 2016. Police cruiser video cameras captured footage of possible misconduct. Contact was made between HPD, the West Hartford Police Department, the Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s office. This incident was investigated criminally by the Litchfield Connecticut State’s Attorney’s office to determine if criminal charges were warranted.  Any questions related to the criminal investigation should be directed to the Litchfield Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office.

In sensitive incidents related to police use of force it has been our practice to release as much information as possible as soon as it is available. We have already shared information and had community conversation about this incident on several occasions. The Hartford Police Department has previously (10/05/16) released all video evidence related to this incident to our community as well as the media. The Hartford Police Department administrative investigation has now been completed. The 68 page Internal Affairs investigation and findings are attached (The summary begins at the bottom of page 56). We have also attached a document that describes the discipline that was applied to many of the Officers involved.

We take great care to partner and dialogue with our community every day, and we appreciate our community's input and ideas. While this internal administrative investigation is complete, we will continue to share the information we gather and communicate it openly.