The Mayoral forums being held across the City to educate voters are so helpful as well as informative. Last nights forum held in the West End allowed the audience members to ask questions to assess the candidates. One question asked by a resident was about the conditions of Hartford's streets after snowstorms. It was interesting to get Mayor Segarra's perspective and his ability to identify and solve problems.
Segarra's response left many in the audience shaking their heads. Now I am not writing a comedy sketch here, he actually said this. Segarra said the poor condition of Hartford's streets is caused by our suburban neighbors who come into Hartford and then clean their cars off, sweeping the snow onto Hartford's streets. Yes, our esteemed leader has identified the problem. Is this maybe the answer as to why Hartford is such a mess? If this is Segarra's grasp on reality, is it any wonder he has such a poor record of fixing the problems.
Damn those suburban car sweepers, its all their fault. And all this time I thought it was DPW.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
FROM HPD
On May 19, 2015, Detectives from the Hartford Police
Vice and Narcotics Unit received information that a Parole violator operating a
blue, four door Lincoln with tinted windows was in possession of narcotics and a
firearm. With information provided, Detectives were able to locate and
positively identify the individual in the suspect vehicle as Miguel Diaz, 35, of
Wethersfield, CT. Hartford Narcotic Detectives with the assistance of South
Condition Officers and the State Police Narcotics Task Force (SNTF) attempted to
stop the vehicle. The vehicle failed to stop for Detectives and a clear plastic
bag was observed thrown out of the vehicle window before fleeing the area. The
clear plastic bag was located and contained 309 bags of Heroin. Surveillance was
established at a location on Hillside Avenue identified by Detectives as a
“Hideout” for Diaz. Diaz and a second individual identified as Felix Hernandez,
39, of Hartford were located in the area and detained. Consent to search was
obtained for that location where Detectives located a firearm, along with
narcotics and packaging material. The evidence seized by Detectives through the
surveillance and search is listed below:
Seized
Evidence
$4099.00 in U.S Currency was recovered
10 grams of raw heroin as well as 609 bags of
heroin
Hi-Point 9mm handgun and a box containing numerous live
9mm rounds
Arrested: Miguel Diaz 35, of Wethersfield CT (also had a
warrant for an escapee from Parole)
CHARGES:
1.
Possession of
Narcotics
2.
P.W.I.T.S
Narcotics
3.
Criminal possession of
firearm
4.
Reckless driving
5.
Reckless
endangerment
6.
Failure to obey Officer
signal
7.
Drug Factory
ARRESTED: Felix Hernandez 39, of Hartford
CT
CHARGES:
1.
Possession of
Narcotics
2.
P.W.I.T.S
Narcotics
3.
P.W.I.T.S Narcotics 1500 feet
of a school
WHITE HOUSE ACCOLADES MEAN VERY LITTLE ON STREETS OF HARTFORD
This was Hartford's third homicide in three days, and one of several shooting incidents, At one of the shootings , 26 spent casings were recovered.
I don't know if Mayor Segarra is that far out of touch with what is happening in our community or is he just delusional. I think a combination of both is fitting. I am not sure how anyone can instill confidence in the community by only singing the praises and ignoring reality. The fact of the matter is that Segarra an his Council allies have decimated the ranks of the Hartford Police Department over the last several years. The number of sworn Police officers at HPD is the lowest it has been in decades and will probably be under 400 in a very short time, Three more officers resigned today to retire and start careers at another department.
All of Hartford's walk beats have been ended a few weeks ago (except for City Hall, funny how that works) Can it be much longer before Community Service Officers positions are cancelled to fill critical patrol positions. Why is it that a recruit class to fill vacant positions was only filled by Segarra to graduate just in time for the Mayoral and Council elections this fall?
Although most active HPD officers are loving the overtime gravytrain, are we going to see Chief Rovella made the scapegoat as his overtime costs skyrocket due to the lack of planning by City Hall? Who is going to accept the public outrage as their CSO's start disappearing, I'm pretty sure it wont be Mayor Delusional standing in front of the NRZ's explaining it.
And while I am addressing Mayoral honesty, I am getting pretty tired of Segarra spouting his nonsense about "second chances" . Why is he supporting second chances now? Has it become politically popular? Does Segarra forget the name of his former staffer Kennard Ray? If you need a reminder, Kennard Ray was an employee in Segarra's office. I way "was" because as soon as it became public that Ray had felony convictions, Segarra quickly jettisoned him from City Hall and fired him. So much for "second chances".
I doubt there are many people hearing gunshots and witnessing the killings that take comfort in the accolades from the White House. Maybe what Hartford needs is a leader that is more into actual results as opposed to the phony chest thumping as the homicides and shootings escalate.