Wednesday, May 20, 2015

HARTFORD'S SNOW PLOWING PROBLEMS REVEALED BY SEGARRA

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.

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

 
While the Segarra Administration was out thumping their chest last night in response to the White House's praise  for Segarra's Community policing program, the violence on Hartford's streets continued. A 17 year old was shot in the head on Irving Street last night in a flurry of gunfire. He was taken off life support this morning and pronounced dead. At least 17 gunshots were picked up by shotspotter.

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.