HARTFORD STF, BLOOMFIELD PD AND MANCHESTER PD COOPERATION YIELDS BIG RESULTS

Cooperation pays off. More guns off our streets

On 12/23/15 at approximately 1700 hrs, Manchester Police along with the Hartford Police Shooting Task Force to include Bloomfield PD, executed a search and seizure warrant for a stolen firearm at 66 Regent Street in Manchester.

Surveillance was established prior to execution resulting in one of the targets of the investigation being detained (Christon Jackson 11/28/90) prior to officers arrival at the residence.  Upon Manchester Police and Shooting Task Force arrival, detectives noticed a male watching from an second story bedroom window. The male was observed quickly retreating into the bedroom and down into a stairwell.

 Entry was immediately forced to the residence and one male subject was detained in the downstairs living room  identified as Cryshawn Jackson 10/7/92.  Officers cleared the residence and discovered an empty leater  the room  holster in the upstairs bedroom that the male was watching from.  A firearm was found underneath a mattress in the room where an adult female was sitting with two small children.  A Beretta PX4 Storm .40 Caliber handgun fully loaded with a chambered round (Serial # PZ48722) was recovered from underneath the mattress ,where the children were sitting. The firearm had been  reported stolen from Manchester in August.  During the investigation numerous firearm related items were seized to include 12 gauge slug and buck shot gun shells, 9mm ammunition, .380 Ammunition, .38 special ammunition, holsters and sawed off shotgun handles.  
Once the initial search was complete,  a delivery of a  firearm to the residence took place while officers were still on scene.  At approximately 2100 hours, a black Mazda  bearing CT registration 1AUMJ6, pulled into the driveway and was subsequently secured by officers. The driver, Rahnda Charles DOB 6/9/95, was in possession of a Walther P99 9mm handgun (Serial # FAH7651) fully loaded with 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition, The weapon had been reported stolen this month out of Manchester.  The front seat passenger, Kemo Teal DOB 12/21/96, was in possession of a silver Walther PPK handgun (Serial # A064404) fully loaded with 5 rounds of .380 ammunition.

Charles and Teal were taken into custody without incident. 

A fourth handgun, a loaded Ruger LCP .380 handgun (Serial # 37184506), was recovered from Christon Jackson's vehicle.  This firearm was reported stolen out of Hebron in May 2015.

The below listed suspects were charged in relation to this case:

Rahnda Charles (5/9/1995), of  90 Orchard Street, Manchester, CT. 53a-212 Theft of a Firearm, 53a-217 Criminal Possession of Firearm, 29-35 Carrying Pistol without a Permit, 29-38 Weapons in Motor Vehicle.
Christon Jackson (11/28/1990), of  66 Regent Street, Manchester, CT. 53a-212 Theft of a Firearm, 29-35 Carrying Pistol without a Permit, 29-38 Weapons in Motor Vehicle, 53a-217 Criminal Possession of Firearm, 53-21 (a)(1) Risk of Injury to a Minor (2 Counts), 21a-279a(a)(1) Possession of <1 b="" marijuana.="" oz="">
Cryshawn Jackson (10/7/1992), of 66 Regent Street, Manchester, CT. 53a-212 Theft of a Firearm, 53-21 (a)(1) Risk of Injury to a Minor (2 Counts), 21a-279a(a)(1) Possession of <1 br="" marijuana.="" oz="">Kemo Teal (12/21/1996), of 10 North Fairfield Street, Manchester, CT. 29-35 Carrying Pistol without a Permit, 21a-279a(a)(1) Possession of <1 b="" marijuana.="" oz="">
Evidence:
Beretta PX4 Storm .40 Caliber handgun (Serial # PZ48722) Walther P99 9mm handgun (Serial # FAH7651) Walther PPK .380 handgun (Serial # A064404) Ruger LCP .380 handgun (Serial # 37184506) Misc ammunition and firearm parts Misc amounts of suspected marijuana

ENGINE 14 PHOTOS

Thank you for the photo.

You can read the original post here  http://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2015/12/restoring-pride-in-hfd-and-some.html

NOW IS NOT THE TIME ADAM, PLEASE

Many of you have talked to me personally about my support for our City Treasurer Adam Cloud. Adam took a lot of heat over the O'Garro insurance payment matter. In conversations he explained to me, and I agree, it was poor decisions on his part. It was also because the entire chain of procedural errors throughout City Hall led to the mess. It wasn't just the Treasurer's Offices that slipped up .It was the whole process. The COO, the Finance Director, the Comptroller, they were all asleep at the switch , or in legal terms, co-conspirators

And as a sidenote, if there was criminal involvement by Adam Cloud in the payment, I kind of think it would have come out before O'Garro's Federal trial where incidentally he was convicted on all counts of the frauds he was charged with.

But unfortunately, poor decisions in the Treasurers Office are once again rearing their ugly head. Adam Cloud is being criticized for the reported $20,000 raise he is taking  since his re-election. This is one decision I can not support. Yes, everyone is entitled to a salary. Adam does manage a large amount of money, especially with the City Pension Funds. But it is called Public Service for a reason. If the Treasurers salary of roughly $140,000 isn't enough, then Mr. Cloud needs to make a decision if it might be time to return to the private sector where the sky is the limit.

There are far worse choices that could be at the helm in the Treasurer's Office .We should be thankful that Adam and his knowledge are managing Hartford's finances.

Giving ones self a raise of $20,000 is not conducive to trust in government. Compounding that is the fact that no one is willing to give a solid explanation how it was slid through under the budgetary radar. I doubt vey much Cloud can tell Payroll to boost his salary by 20 grand on his own. Did the COO or the HR Director help slide it through ,or maybe someone in the Budget Office thought they could bury the increase in the budget?

Yes, the Treasurer is an important position in City Finances and City government , but no more important than other Department Heads . To the best of my knowledge no other Department Head is slated for a 20 grand raise this year.

And for a city that is quite possibly close to a State takeover or bankruptcy, Clouds raise is bad policy. How do we continue to ask employees for concessions at budget time every year and also ask most Departments to do more with less.

It is time for all of  those in City leadership, including Mr. Cloud to lead by example  and get a grip on reality. Mr. Clouds raise is more than many of the household incomes in our City, and it is a bad start for his new term.

Please reconsider this move Adam.

In the meantime, the Hartford City Council may be taking action at Monday nights meeting to stop the raise.

LET PEOPLE KNOW YOU APPRECIATE THEM

On July 5th of this year after suffering my stroke, I have had plenty of time to think about things I would have done differently in my life. Did I take the time to tell people in my life how much I appreciated them?

 I want to draw attention to someone today. Someone I hardly even know, but someone I am also very impressed with. The video below is a video this person posted today on his Facebook page. This young man lost his father way too early to Cancer. But despite that loss of his father, he has grown into a young man that his father, if he was still alive today would be extremely proud of. . He is leading his life as an example that many of our youth should emulate.

From what I understand he is currently attending college and when he completes that he will be entering the United States  Marine Corps. From what I am told he is also showing public service to his home community as a firefighter with the Town of Wethersfield. Just a look at his Facebook page will tell you how well he was raised with a strong emphasis on family, community and service to his Country.

Michael Fallon Jr. is that young man, the son of the late HPD Assistant Police Chief  and Capitol Police Chief Michael Fallon.

The way Michael has grown despite the loss of his father should be the way every parent would want their children to enter adulthood. As tragic as the 9/11 video below is, I can picture Mike Fallon performing very similar acts if called upon. It is just the way he was raised.

All of our young people, especially in Hartford, could take a message from Fallon's life. Putting a 9mm handgun  in your pocket and acting like a tough guy does not make a man. A man is judged by his everyday acts and the service to his community. Michael Fallon jr. is well on the way to meet those marks and I am sure his father is proud as he watches the growth of his son,

Even though I don't know you well Michael Fallon, keep it up, we need more young men like you and Welles Crowther, the young hero portrayed in the you tube video below.. This video is very moving and thought provoking and as tragic as the ending was, you can tell Welles parents  thought, and still think the world of him. They clearly raised him right.

RESTORING PRIDE IN HFD AND SOME CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

The first in a new HFD tradition, Engine 8 /Tac 1 on Park St

The view from my bedroom window, Engine 5 on Sigourney St

The last few nights, I have noticed the view from my bedroom window has changed. My neighbor across the street, Hartford Fire Department Station, Engine 5 has been lit with bright Christmas lights. It seems as though more lights and decorations have been added for the last couple nights.

I never noticed the decorations in years past. On Saturday there was an accident by my driveway and Engine 5 was on scene providing EMS care. I noticed the engine was decorated showing holiday spirit, complete with a large wreath and tinsel.

My curiosity got the best of me and I started asking questions about the decorations. I was told that it was a social media campaign started by Hartford Fire Lieutenant Raul Ortiz on his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/raul.ortiz.5494 After the decorations were complete on Lt. Ortiz's Engine 8 on Park Street. Lt. Ortiz threw out the challenge to the other  Hartford Firehouses  to start a friendly competition to show their Holiday Spirit and to build morale in the Department.

It seems to be catching on and it is amazing how little things can show leadership. The Hartford Fire Department has been through a couple of tough years. Maybe ideas by leaders like Lt Ortiz can jump start the rebuilding efforts (well, that and a new Chief)

Congratulations to Lieutenant Ortiz for your efforts and also for showing that Hartford does have pride.

The sad part is that the way this Department has been run recently and the poor decision making at  the top, Ortiz will probably get a 90 suspension for unauthorized  use of electricity.

If any other house would like to send me decoration pictures, e-mail them to me and I will post them.

COUNTDOWN TO A NEW BEGINNING

  A reader earlier this evening posted a question for me on the blog. "Kevin- I know this is slightly off topic. Do you have any opinion on mayor-elect Bronin's first round of appointments that were announced today? "

I have to say ,quite honestly, I have no opinion on those announced so far. I am encouraged that there are names that I am not familiar with.  What we really need at City hall is a new way of doing business , and that is only going to come with new ideas and fresh people at the helm.

I have to say that one of the first things I find very encouraging is that Luke appears to be ready to hit the ground running. Unlike our current Mayor who many times seemed as though he couldn't make a decision if his life depended on it. Think about how many "acting" Directors we had in key management positions. Maybe that is why there never seemed to be a lot of managing going on.

Name one position in the Corporate world that would allow a position like that of our embattled Fire Chief to go unchanged after the history of mismanagement and poor decision making that we have seen the last couple years.

From the Finance Director  who apparently kept receipts in a shoebox on a shelf  to the COO who had no problem signing off on numerous apparently fraudulent invoices for duplicate work or work that was never done in the first place. The next Administration needs consistency. Key positions can not be left vacant for extended periods like Segarra was always ready to do.

Many of our problems under Pedro Segarra could have been averted with basic management principles and adherence to policy and procedures, many of which were already in place, just never followed.

People throughout City Government should be mentored ,trained and groomed for advancement. That is a basic business management concept. If any one of us drops dead tomorrow, it is nice to know that work continues on, that is called proper management. And most City Departments are staffed by good people who just want to be properly managed. We haven't seen that in recent years, whether it is the Fire Department  DPW or the Public Safety Dispatch Center, supervision and management is key.

We also need to bring sound customer service concepts back to City Government. Phones need to be answered, calls need to be returned and most importantly, constituents need to feel as though they are being listened to and respected by their government. When a resident is promised a response, they deserve that appropriate response on a timely basis. Not everyone can be kept happy. Being in business myself I realize that, but I wouldn't have remained in the same business for over 25 years if I treated my customers like City Hall treats many of its customers.

With the number of cell phones, laptops, I-pads and communication devices paid for each month by the City, there should never be an excuse that "no one ever got back to me"

Although 311 seems to be managed better now that it has been placed under the umbrella of MHIS, I am sure there is still room for improvement. When people call 311, the results need to be tracked and followed up on. With technology today, there is no excuse for residents saying "no one got back to them" when they have called. ( as a sidenote, MHIS is probably one of the best run departments in City Government with progressive ideas and a real interest to be part of the solution with their "out of the box" thinking)

 Unfortunately those unhappy customers, especially on the the business and corporate side , and to some degree our residents, voice their disgust by leaving the City. We can no longer afford that. We need to send a clear message that we are open for business and we want you to grow and rebuild with us.

That growth is going to rest on the shoulders of our new Mayor and to a large part on the Council and the support they give him to complete his rebuilding tasks. We also need to all play a  role in that effort and make others realize the foundation that we have here to build on.

It is not going to be an easy job, we all have a lot of work to do. Now lets give it a chance. Keep an open mind but also don't be afraid to hold those at the top accountable. This needs to be a true partnership if we are going to make it work. At this stage, failure is not an option.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO....

Hartford's outgoing Mayor, Pedro Segarra "I am ready for my close up"

And the Oscar goes to Pedro Segarra for playing the best supporting role of a caring Mayor during a Campaign.

Everyday I realize that the voters in Hartford made the right chose in ushering in a change in the Mayor's Office and showing Pedro Segarra the door.

Segarra did do a good acting job during a tough fought campaign, but fortunately the majority of Hartford voters showing up at the polls on election day realized that, and voted for change.

Can you remember before the election? Pedro Segarra was at every fire, every shooting, every homicide. His incessant tweets about his love for the City and its people would have been annoying  if you didn't see the comedy aspect of his act.

It became almost a nightly occurrence on the news, Segarra parading in front of the television cameras playing the caring shepherd comforting his flock of wayward sheep as he travelled around a troubled City.

But , alas, all good things must come to an end. ( I guess the phony bad things also) Since 8:00PM on election day, no more tweets, nor more 11:00PM comforting news shots, nothing.  Did Segarra flick the switch off on his love for the City or did his twitter account get shut down after the election? Hartford has had plenty of shootings and homicides since election day, sot it is not for a lack of grandstanding opportunities.

I think poor Pedro was aware that his "acting" career as well as his political career was over. Time to call it a day and move on. The old saying "may the best man win" came true and we now realize we made the right choice.

HARTFORD: LAND OF DREAMS

Or probably more appropriately, Land of Broken Promises. I was watching "Face the State" this morning and saw the flashback piece about the implosion of the old Aetna building on Asylum Street. It was supposed to be the future site of New England's tallest skyscraper when the new project was built. It never happened., it is still an empty lot

That got me to thinking back about all of the broken promises made to us, the people of Hartford. Why are we duped into so many false starts?  And we continue to fall for it hook, line and sinker

It seems like we have become much more gullible over the last few years.

Lets start with the Adrien's Landing Redevelopment project. If we had believed everything we were force fed for that, we would all be watching Tom Brady throwing touchdown passes today where we used to pay our gas bills at CNG on Columbus Boulevard.

We all know the end result of that broken promises. A "krafty" businessman, Robert Kraft used Hartford as a pawn in his plans to get a better deal for a new stadium in Massachusetts. Who could blame him? Most scammers know an easy mark when they see it, and I doubt you could get much easier than a desperate Hartford City Hall . Despite not having their anchor football stadium, the Front Street project had gained momentum over the last few years and now does generate some traffic for Hartford business. Unfortunately the tax revenue to the City is still pretty slim, but at least it has created some decent jobs.

But as a City , I guess we never learned our lesson that Stadium deals, as a matter of public policy are not good ideas. And in the end they usually are much more costly than any benefits realized. Let me fast forward a few years to the Yard Goats deal. This should probably be the poster child for broken promises to the City.

The only ones that seem to be benefiting from this are the team owners, the Solomon brothers. All we heard during the processs were the buzzwords to grab the support of  Hartford residents. The biggest being "JOBS". Now the question needs to be asked, where are they? What are the real numbers? Give me the names of 20 Hartford residents employed  gainfully on the jobsite. Give me the names of 10 Hartford contractors working on the job?

One of the other buzzwords that always draws attention is "DOWNTOWN SUPERMARKET" . Where are the plans for it? It sounded good at the time to potentially fill a much needed  void. Affordable quality food for Hartford residents. There actually was more progress on this before the Yard Goats deal was ever announced.  The potential developer that the City had been dealing with pulled out as soon as the deal was announced. I have not heard anything solid since.

And remember all of the original drawings announced with considerable fanfare showing the Hooker brewery and its rooftop patio highlighting the stadium project ? One word, D-E-A-D. Now that part has been replaced by Hard Rock Café. It was surprising to note that the Hartford Courant reported that no proposal has formally been submitted for the project by Hard Rock Café.

Is there anyone at City Hall, Development Services ,or for that matter Centerplan that has any basic understanding of business concepts ( Centerplan is the developer for the stadium project) Has anyone ever heard of a "MOU" (memo of understanding) That is where the basic concept of the development should be laid out. Who is going to do what? Laying out funding, scope , job promises, tax breaks etcetera, etcetra.

 A "MOU" would keep us from looking like fools as we normally end up doing when the headlines fade  and all the potential  for free publicity has been gained by developers willing to use Hartford.It would also let us know that Centerplan and the City actually have a plan of action and a clear definition of what "DONO" is envisioned as , instead of the seat of the pants approach we have been willing to settle for so far.

Maybe the plan is to sandwich the Hard Rock Café in between the supermarket and the affordable  market rate housing we were promised. Unfortunately we are the last ones to know what is planned, although I'm now sure that even the "powers to be" know what they want. I think it is that old philosophy that if you throw enough against the wall, something is bound to stick. That philosophy unfortunately makes for very messy walls and probably very limited  benefits for the people of Hartford who so sorely need a "win".

Maybe if we can't clean up our own act with sound business practices, we luckily can count on law enforcement and related Grand Juries. That saved us from the Perez era and promises to rescue us from millions of potential losses from the Wooden/Kennedy era Council reign with Dillon Stadium.

And while I am at it on broken promises, what is up with the "welcome mat" to Hartford as you exit Route 2. Remember the old Channel 3 site. that was demolished after 3 was driven to the suburbs by a less than friendly City Hall. We were sold a bill of goods for an environmentally sound,  state of the art office building with rooftop patios and terraces. Are we still giving tax breaks for that property?

What ever happened to the luxury condos slated for the old YMCA on Jewel Street. I can answer that one quickly..... NOTHING.  Northland's gentrification of that property never took place ( Well, I guess maybe it did succeed, the facility was shut down). A building that used to allow  Hartford youth to interact and play basketball alongside future US Senators, politicians and other leaders was effectively shut down  as another broken promise to Hartford's people. It sits empty and decaying today.

Enough is enough. We have a suite full of lawyers in the Corporation Counsel's Office that should be deigning these announcements to protect our interests as a City instead of just making empty headlines for developers. I want to see these projects succeed, but I also want to see our interests protected.