In a strongly worded letter, The Greater Hartford African American Alliance, under the leadership of their President, J. Stan McCauley, has drafted a letter, to be delivered to Mayor Luke Bronin tomorrow, The document will be hand delivered to Mayor Bronin tomorrow after a public press conference and the reading of the letter on the steps of Hartford City Hall at 12:00 noon. The Alliance is calling for the immediate removal of Police Chief Jason Thody, after the recently publicized assault of a female prisoner at HPD Booking facility and based upon Thody's history of "lack of integrity, personal conduct and failure to establish a culture of transparency, fairness and equal opportunity". The letter cites many of Thody's failures and bad deeds during his tenure.
The text of the full letter to be delivered to Mayor Bronin tomorrow is below:
The Honorable Mayor Luke Bronin
City Hall ,550 Main Street, Room 200
Hartford, Connecticut 06103
Luke.Bronin@Hartford.gov
Mayor Luke Bronin,
The Greater Hartford African American Alliance (The Alliance) is writing to call your attention to the horrific misconduct of an on-duty white police sergeant who assaulted a black civilian woman while she was in the custody and care of the City of Hartford, and we demand immediate redress. There is no longer trust, legitimacy, or confidence in the ability of the Hartford Police Department (HPD) to police itself. Misconduct appears to be the order of the day. The announced outcomes of recent disciplinary actions of HPD personnel involved with the “Dead Pool'' appear not to be factual, transparent, nor appropriate for the nature of the offenses committed; equally alarming are the unannounced outcomes for the personnel involved from the Office of the State’s Attorney. Systemic inaction is complicit with prejudiced biases, destroys social connectivity, decreases community resistance to crime and has eroded the public’s trust in the local justice system. We insist that an independent federal entity, unaffiliated with the City of Hartford or the State of CT, perform a comprehensive investigation and prosecution of the police sergeant. Because building trust and legitimacy on both sides of the police-citizen divide is the foundational principle guiding relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve, oversight by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) of the Hartford Police Department and the Office of the State’s Attorney is warranted to avert further erosion of the public’s trust.
The Alliance supports the “Statement from Greater Hartford NAACP Regarding the Assault of an AfricanAmerican Woman by Hartford Police Officer” released to the press on April 27, 2021, calling for the immediate termination of the police sergeant, a person in a supervisory position within HPD.
It is evident HPD has lost its credibility within the community with ongoing inappropriate behavior, and within its ranks, as officers continue to leave the department in droves. Recent media highlight incidents which illustrate the lack of ethics, morals and values, and inconsistent levels of discipline.
Chief Jason Thody’s lack of integrity, personal conduct; and failure to establish a culture of transparency, fairness and equal opportunity; raise questions about his values and ability to lead this Department. Jason Thody’s ongoing violation of the civil rights of sworn personnel under his command, and his incidents of poor judgment, demonstrate a lack of social and emotional intelligence.
There is a confirmed report in 2010 which indicates Thody, while he served at the rank of Lieutenant, got into a barroom incident while off-duty, and he was later disciplined and subsequently demoted “for conduct unbecoming an employee, and for knowingly and willfully making a false entry in any Department or other official report or record”. A citizen reported in May 2020 that Thody, while he served as Police Chief, was erratically driving a City of Hartford police vehicle, struck a guardrail, caused property damage and evaded the scene; claiming he was on the way to a Black Lives Matter event (a peaceful protest in response to the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer), which he never attended.
Sound decision making is the foundation and an essential characteristic of effective leadership; which was not on display when Chief Thody allocated more than one million dollars for administrative vehicles while leaving the HPD fleet for patrol officers in disrepair. This decision negatively impacts HPD’s ability to respond to calls for service in a safe and timely manner, which jeopardizes the community at large.
Jason Thody is the defendant in multiple unresolved lawsuits concerning civil rights and discrimination violations, including his refusal to act in a sexual harassment complaint filed by a member of HPD. Not only that, there are also multiple active complaints filed with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) against Jason Thody in his role as the Assistant Chief responsible for Internal Affairs, prior to his appointment as Chief of Police. These CHRO complaints involve disparate treatment asserting the practice and use of vindictive and retaliatory investigations (against Black, Latino, female and LGBTQ+ members of the department, including persecuting their allies) which have served to systematically block the advancement of officers of color and protected classes. Chief Thody’s actions / inactions undermine the tenets of procedural justice. He has repeatedly shown his indifference to the plight of and ability to effectively serve a community of color, and he has failed to create a sustainable environment to recruit, retain and promote a diverse cadre of police personnel.
The Alliance embraces the theories of community policing and the belief its success depends on promoting organizational strategies supportive of the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, and hosted a Virtual Town Hall featuring HPD Chief Jason Thody, as the keynote on the evening of Thursday, October 22, 2020, to discuss public safety. During this opportunity, Thody did very little to forge mutual trust and cooperation as his statements were less than truthful and evasive when asked about his operational and administrative plans, which provided further proof he lacks the guardian mindset required to build public trust and legitimacy.
Disingenuously, when campaigning for the permanent position as Chief, Jason Thody committed to assembling a diverse command staff, which would reflect the demographics of the City of Hartford and comply with the Cintron v. Vaughn Federal Consent Decree and CT General Statute 7-291A. To date, he has not promoted any person of color or any other protected class member to a command position from within HPD. In September 2020, rather than using the historical practice of extending an active promotional list for a year, at no cost to the City, Chief Thody elected to discard the promotional list, which contained two females and a black male, all with graduate degrees and substantial years of service, who could have been promoted. Then in April 2021, less than seven months later, exams have been announced for Lieutenants and Captains to be held in July 2021, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars to the City, while we are actively negotiating budgets and allocation of resources to meet the City’s needs. Discarding the promotional list was neither in compliance with the federal consent decree nor was it an “efficient allocation of City resources”, as is the goal of the FY2022 City of Hartford Budget. Moreover, better use of these funds could have been towards the training and deployment of non-law enforcement responders to non-violent calls for service or to upgrade the fleet of police vehicles for the patrol staff.
Hartford is but a heartbeat away from being featured in the headlines of the national news! Courageous action and intentionality are required to own and address problems in the Hartford Police Department BEFORE matters get out of control. Punching an unarmed woman in custody, in the presence of subordinate personnel, on camera, is the canary in the mine! We find it curious that this incident was only brought to the Office of the State’s Attorney for investigation after the story was published by a local reporter, over two and a half weeks after the incident, which was neither “proactive or quick”.
It is also disturbing that, in defiance of the new Police Accountability Bill Public Act 20-1, the video was not released within 96 hours of the incident. Additionally, the entire unedited video has yet to be released which speaks to the lack of transparency. There are reports of additional misconduct by this same police sergeant after the initial assault.
The community of Hartford expects and deserves racial reconciliation, and the Alliance will not tolerate the continued mistreatment of people of color and members of protected classes, external or internal to HPD. Beginning in May 2021, we are aware that interviews will be conducted for the position of sergeant, and we expect those vacancies to be filled free of any discriminatory practices and by diverse personnel who reflect the community.
Therefore, in addition to the NAACP’s demand for the immediate termination of the police sergeant, the Alliance is also demanding that Chief Jason Thody be immediately relieved of his duties as Police Chief of the City of Hartford. The restoration to build public trust and legitimacy will not occur with Jason Thody at the helm. Based on Thody’s history of ignoring federal and state law, he should be prohibited from independently making any further promotions or appointments. To truly change the culture of the HPD, procedural justice must be the guiding principle for internal and external policies and practices; and the community must also have the ability to verify a credible system of accountability, which currently only exists on paper, and must start with competent, ethical and trustworthy leadership.
Without action by our “Strong Mayor”, the Alliance will be forced to refer these matters to higher authorities. We look forward to your confirmation of receipt and advisement.
Respectfully,
J. Stan McCauley,
President Greater Hartford African American Alliance
GHAfricanAmericanAlliance@gmail.com The Greater Hartford African American Alliance (The Alliance) is an unincorporated, nonpartisan alliance of individuals and organizations joined together to share information, design strategies, and advocate for actions that benefit African American communities within Greater Hartford, Connecticut. We exist to enhance the economic, educational, health, environmental, spiritual, social and cultural experiences of African Americans within the Greater Hartford region. We provide a forum for open dialogue regarding current issues and events of interest to identify key priorities, to establish community consensus and to set an agenda toward collective action.
MEDIA REFERENCES: Police Say Officer Violated Code Of Conduct - Courant Community, May 28, 2010 - Hartford Courant https://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-xpm-2010-05-28-hc-hartford-investigation0528-20100528-story.html After another round of scrutiny, Hartford city council recommends confirmation of Interim Police Chief Jason Thody February 4, 2020 By Rebecca Lurye Hartford Courant https://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-news-hartford-thody-montanez-meeting-20200205-g4yvfsjjbrcqrd4xdgjp5aw7vastory.html?outputType=amp Resolution Calls for the Suspension of Hartford Police Chief, Published July 12, 2020 - NBC Connecticut https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/resolution-calls-for-the-suspension-of-hartford-police-chief/2301263/?amp Hartford Police Chief Disciplined After Crash in Department-Issued Vehicle, Published July 13, 2020 - NBC Connecticut Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody was involved in an accident in his department-issued vehicle on Route 154 in Chester in May. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/hartford-police-chief-disciplined-after-crash-in-department-issued-vehicle/2301631/?amp https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6987976/2020-07-13-Thody-Discipline-Letter.pdf Hartford detective demoted, suspended for suggesting bet on first homicide of 2021, Dec. 8, 2020 By Minyvonne Burke - NBC News The Hartford police chief said the text "represents an appalling lack of judgment" and "an extreme insensitivity toward our community." https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1250358 Hartford police chief who evaded responsibility in May accident suspends officer for 120 days for joking text message Editorial Posted by: Pat Droney | December 7, 2020 - Law Enforcement Today https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/hartford-chief-who-evaded-accident-suspends-detective-over-text-message/ Hartford police chief says use of force chosen by officer 'doesn't conform to policy', April 28, 2021 - Fox61 Staff Hartford Police Sergeant James Guzie is accused of use of force against a woman who was being booked at the time. https://www.fox61.com/article/news/crime/hartford-police-chief-jason-thody-discusses-the-recent-arre