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Saturday, August 21, 2010

OFFICER BATES ARRIVES BACK IN HARTFORD


Hartford Police Officers awaiting the arrival of the hearse contaning Officer Bates earlier today at the Ahern Funeral Home (sorry for the quality of the pic)


Hartford Police Officer Jason Bates, who passed away in Boston from cancer this week, arrived back in Hartford today. The hearse carrying Officer Bates was escorted back from Boston this morning by members of the Hartford Police Department and a police motorcycle escort.

A line of Hartford Police Officers, including Chief Roberts and Deputy Chief Horvath, stood at attention as the procession pulled into the Ahern Funeral Home at 180 Farmington Avenue in Hartford The officers attended the tribute in uniform, most of them on their own time, to honor one of their fellow officers.

As the hearse pulled into the front lot escorted by six police motorcycles, the motorcade passed a line of Hartford Police cruisers parked with their red and blue roof strobes and their headlights flashing. Bagpiper Pat Whelan added to the tribute as he piped traditional music as Officer Bates was carried into the funeral home by six Hartford Police officers and Chief Roberts.

From what I have been told, the wake for Officer Bates will be Monday and the funeral will be Tuesday. I don't know any more of the details yet than that.

YOU KNOW IT IS GOING TO BE A BAD DAY WHEN......



There are many ways to answer that question some days. But it can't get much worse than when you finish that sentence "you know it is going to be a bad day when a prisoner handcuffed in the back seat of your HPD cruiser finds a way to slip out of his cuffs, climb through a broken partition between the seats, get into the driver seat and take off and escape with your stolen cruiser".

That was how the sentence ended today for a Hartford Police officer who shall remain nameless, mainly because the incident is under investigation at this point.

The officer was at Hartford Hospital with the prisoner when the incident occurred and apparently much of the incident was caught on video. After the prisoner fled, nearly striking a few individuals, he eventually ended up at the Windsor boat launch where he ditched the car on a trail that ran along the river.

The prisoner for some reason removed the laptop from the cruiser and disconnected the battery. The damage to the vehicle did have some new dents and also was driven over a rather large downed tree laying across the trail.

The suspect is still at large, but that will most likely change quickly, it is never a good idea to steal a police car.

Friday, August 20, 2010

MESSAGE TO THE COUNCIL: HURRY UP AND PASS THE COTTO ORDINANCE BEFORE THIS HAPPENS AGAIN

The following story was posted on line this afternoon. If only the Council had passed the proposed "Cotto" ordinance sooner, we could have hosted 46 of the people arrested. The 47th was already here as a guest of the Connecticut Department of Correction. I wonder how this would have been handled in Hartford?

The crimes alleged seem relatively minor,attempted murder, carjacking, assault and battery with dangerous weapons, assault to rape and possession of firearms.
I can see why we would want to welcome them with open arms and prevent the Police from asking unnecessary questions of these stellar individuals. I'm sure they were only looking to start fresh in the Land of Opportunity. And how dare they "target" foreigners without giving the same opportunity for arrests to regular citizens.

Here is the full story:

IMMIGRATION AGENTS NAB 47 IN MASS, MAINE, CONNECTICUT


BOSTON — Federal immigration officials say a three-month operation in Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut has led to the arrest 47 of people suspected of being gang members or having ties to gangs.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Harold Ort said on Friday that many of the suspects had histories of violent crimes including attempted murder, carjacking, assault and battery with dangerous weapons, assault to rape and possession of firearms.

The operation targeted foreigners and those born abroad. They will appear before immigration judges, but their criminal status renders them removable from the country within 10 business days.

They include residents of Boston, Chelsea, Dartmouth, East Boston, Fitchburg, Leominster, Lynn, New Bedford, Randolph and Springfield, all in Massachusetts. One person who was already in custody at Hartford Correctional Center was also arrested, and others were detained in Providence, R.I., as well as Portland and Westbrook in Maine.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

THE PRIMARY NUMBERS ARE IN

Apparently these are the official voter turnout numbers for the August 10, 2010 primary as being reported on Courant.com, where you can search by town for the results.

TOWN Hartford
Eligible Democrats 33829
Democrats Voted 7484
Democrat Turnout 22.12%
Eligible Republicans 1719
Republicans Voted 404
Republican Turnout 23.50%

Pretty dismal numbers, but the number of eligible Republicans surprises me. It looks like the Republican vote is shrinking more and more each year. A few more years and they should be non-existent.

How is the budget for the Republican Registrar of Voters justified with such small numbers compared to the Democratic numbers?

HARTFORD POLICE OFFICER PASSES AFTER BATTLE WITH CANCER


Hartford Police Officer Jason Bates passed away this evening after a year long battle against cancer.

Officer Bates graduated from the Hartford Police Academy in 2007. Approximately 18 months later Officer Bates was diagnosed with cancer and has been receiving treatments in Boston.

On August 5, 2010 Hartford Police Sergeant Jim Elliott began a 24 hour bicycle ride around the outer borders of the State of Connecticut as a fundraiser for Officer Bates.

For the ride, an account was established for donations. Anyone wishing to still contribute may send donations to the "24 Hour Bates Bicycle Ride" in care of the Greater Hartford Police Federal Credit Union at 50 Jennings Road, Hartford, CT, 06120.

I don't know anything at this point regarding Officer Bates family situation, but please consider donating if possible.

Thanks

WHAT IS UP WITH THE HPD WEBSITE?

For an agency that is still using hand written index cards to keep track of time records, it might be a jump for them to keep up with this new-fangled thing called the internet.

The only problem is that we are paying for someone to maintain the Hartford Police Department's website under a special contract worth more than $60,000 per year. The person with the contract is also collecting a pension as a retired City of Hartford employee.

In taking a look at the website last night, it shows that the weekly crime statistics haven't been updated since May 15, 2010. They used to be relatively up to date, maybe lagging a couple weeks at a time, but over 3 months behind?

Much of the basic information is also outdated. It show's Lt. Luis Rodriguez as Commander of Vice and Narcotics, he hasn't been there in probably over a year. Lt. Pat Jobes is listed as the Headquarters Lieutenant for "C" squad, he retired months ago. Many other mistakes and outdated information is on the site, but you get the point.

Shouldn't we ask for our money's worth if we are paying over $60,000 a year to have someone make sure it is correct?

Another problem I have is that the City is paying a police Sergeant to function as the Public Information Officer. If information was flowing out of the Police Department it might be worthwhile. But if you go by what is on the website, there have been five press releases for the entire month of August, one on the 2nd, three on the 3rd and one on the 5th, nothing since. Ten press releases for May, one for June, and none for July. Probably a mistake on the part of the webmaster, but if nothing else, it shows that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

With the current staffing issues, do we really need to tie up a sworn police officer writng a handful of press releases a month. With all of the gun and drug arrests being made, why aren't these being made public? Would it hurt to let people know what their Police Department is doing?