We keep hearing about the rights of Mayor Perez as he continues to fight criminal charges against himself. After his second arrest this week on felony charges, immediately both he and his attorney insisted on his day in court to plead his case and asked for people to keep an open mind until such time. When Perez was arrested in January of this year he claimed his alleged felonies were nothing more than a "lapse of judgement".
This call for "due process" and another "lapse of judgement" brings me to think about another situation that Perez has overseen that has turned out much different and due process has been totally ignored. This story is difficult because I have mixed feelings, but in the end what's right is right and for Eddie to request his due process rights, I guess it has to apply to all.
In the spring of 2007 a tow truck driver from Whitey's Towing, Slade Secore, was towing a vehicle out of a private parking lot. As he began to leave the lot, a crowd formed and people supportive of the vehicle owner, tore the driver from his truck and severely beat him. The driver eventually identified one of his assailants as Ruben Perez,21, the nephew of Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez. Perez was eventually arrested,(no, not that Perez, the nephew Perez, but yes they were both arrested once or twice)and was detained at the Harford Police Department booking facility.Here is where the decision for me gets difficult. I believe in peoples rights, holding police officers to a higher standard and all that.Slade Secore, the tow truck driver, happened to be the brother of Hartford Police Officer Matthew Secore. After police arrested Ruben Perez for the assault and he was being held at HPD, Officer Secore, while off-duty, made a decision to visit Perez in booking. Apparently Officer Secore had seen his brother's bloody face, eyes swollen shut, and hearing that his brother could potentially lose sight due to a crushed eye socket. It probably wasn't the best time to be making a visit to Ruben Perez in a jail cell, but it involved, what shall I call it...maybe "a lack of judgement". I have to say, after seeing the picture of Slade Secore, if that was a family member of mine, the spineless person conducting the assault might become a victim themselves at the end of a baseball bat. I don't say that lightly, but it is human nature. We're not talking here about someone sucker punched in a bar fight, were talking about someone who was just doing their job and their face was beaten to a pulp.
Anyway, Officer Secore, suffering from that same "lack of judgement", left his severely beaten brother and proceeded to the HPD lockup. The police officers working at the booking desk also suffered their own "lack of judgement" and allowed Officer Secore to enter into the locked facility. Officer Secore apparently had an exchange of words with Ruben Perez and let it be known that the assault victim was his brother. Ruben Perez apparently responded with "f*** your brother" and the culmination of the "lack of judgement" occurred. Officer Secore punched Ruben Perez once. No broken eyesocket, no threat of losing his eyesight, not even any blood, no need for any treatment. Again, I am not trying to minimize Officer Secore's actions, but it is something I think many of us might be driven to under the circumstances. And I have to admit in all honesty that I have met and talked to Officer Secore, and he doesn't seem like the quick tempered type, just my gut feeling. Well , Officer Secore was eventually arrested for his actions and this is where the whole due process thing comes in. After his arrest for one misdemeanor charge of Assault 3rd, (not multiple felonies as are Mayor Perez's charges) Officer Secore was suspended and then terminated from the Hartford Police Department. The case worked its way through the courts and Officer Secore was afforded the same "due process" rights we keep hearing Mayor Perez mention. The end result was the one, single misdemeanor charge was dismissed by the Court and then it was a matter of trying to win Officer Secore's job back through those same "due process" rights we keep hearing the Mayor mention. At a hearing of the State of Connecticut Labor Department Board of Mediation, it was ultimately determined that the punishment of termination for Officer Secore was too severe for his actions, and the State of Connecticut ordered the termination be reduced to a 90 day suspension, and that Officer Secore be reinstated as a Police Officer, and receive all back pay less the 90 day pay loss. The City of Hartford has chosen to ignore the order and is appealing the case in court.
I find it somewhat hypocritical for Perez (the Mayor, not the assaulter) to insist on his due process rights so vigorously when he has no process denying others their rights. If Officer Secore's case isn't enough of an example, why not ask former Public Works Director Clarence Corbin, Deputy Fire Chief Dan Nolan, former Tax Collector Donald Lefevere or many of the others that Perez (the alleged felonious Mayor, not the tough guy assaulter) has had no process trampling on their due process rights.
Oh well, only in Hartford I guess. An FOI request has been submitted to Corporation Counsel John Rose for the full file on this case, but I suggest you not hold your breath waiting to see the documents. This case stainks and the City knows it. But in the meantime the back pay for Officer Secore keeps adding up with interst , and when he prevails it will all be due. In the meantime, a good Police Officer who suffered from a "lack of judgement" is off the job at a time when we need every one of them on the streets.
If Eddie Perez's lack of judgement should be forgiven, shouldn't Officer Secore's? I think they call that "due process" rights.
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5 comments:
As an attorney I know arbitration awards are pretty much impossible to reverse. It looks to me like he's using tax dollars for his personal agenda against this Officer. It makes you wonder what else he uses the city's tax dollars for? Looking forward to the full report. Kevin, you can just go down to the court house and get the case.
I remember this case.However, I did not know that the officer had been terminated. Kevin, do you happen to know on what grounds the city is appealing the officers reinstatement?
I don't have the court filings yet. I do have a large part of the documents obtained today through a source that includes the IAD report as well as the arbitration decision, transcripts of testimony, briefs filed by both sides, and needless to say, a wekkends worth of reading. I have FOI'd all of the city's documents, including e-mails, although they have not complied yet. I will post the arbitration report and order to reinstate Officer Secore this weekend. Arbitration is a process where both parties agree to abide by the final decision. Hartford has failed to abide by the final decision since it was not in their favor
Why, in all this dust storm Santos is kicking up, has no one pointed out that 99% of the information in the arrest warrants is the same information that was in the cell phone search warrant, released months ago? There's nothing new here -- we all saw the extortion charges coming for months, and were just waiting for Kane to make the arrest. It's certainly not this sudden release of grand jury information, it's all been out in public for ages.
Hi Kevin, it was nice meeting you. It's also my opinion based on how my case was handled that the Hartford Police Union has been compromised by city politics. I often wondered why some of the veteran cops refused to deal with our union. I now know why. Regardless, of what you think of me or my case the fact is I had my day in court and won. My charge was dismissed and I won my job back through arbitration. It appalls me the Mayor could care less about my due process yet has the nerve to ask the public for his day in court. You have my full support exposing this double standard and I would be happy to appear on your show to answer any questions.
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