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Monday, August 18, 2014

AN OPEN MEMO TO HARTFORD'S FIRE CHIEF HUERTAS

I first met Chief Huertas several years ago , and whether you agree with me of not, I found him to be an honorable man willing to stand his ground.

At the time Hartford Police were experiencing staffing issues and Huertas was on the road as a District Chief for HFD. A medical aid call had been dispatched , I believe it was a shooting after a robbery. Huertas and the Fire crew dispatched responded quickly but they couldn't enter the shooting scene until HPD was dispatched  and determined the scene was safe. Knowing that the victim was laying only a few hundred feet away from help, yet HFD was helpless to potentially save the life of a victim who may be bleeding to death

Huertas repeatedly called the Police dispatcher asking for a cop so they could enter the scene .Several times he was told no officer was available. Huertas finally told the dispatcher that he didn't care what they had to do, get mutual aid from another Police Department or request a Trooper to respond, but he needed a cop, and he needed them now.

Somehow , once Huertas reached his frustration level, he made sure the right thing was done, a  police officer was found to respond and most likely the victim's life was saved. Later that evening I found Chief Huertas at the former Fire Headquarters building on Pearl Street and thanked him for what he did and for standing up for a Hartford resident  and potentially saving the victims life by standing his ground.

He was surprised that anyone was even aware what he had did, but that left an impression with me that Huertas wasn't into the image games, but was  willing to do what was right when it was needed.

I thought it was important to tell that story to emphasize  why I think Chief Huertas has integrity and character.

Now once again I am calling on Chief Huertas to do the right thing and set an example by doing what he knows is right when he is pushed to his frustration level. I have heard all of the stories of how Terry Waller was promoted to Deputy Chief. As the story has been retold to me by numerous people, Former Chief Casares  was called into the office of at the time Acting COO SKB and asked right out "you are going to make Terry a Deputy Chief, right ?" to which Casares apparently replied "NO". That sealed Casares's fate and he was forced into retirement almost immediately.

Then comes along Casares replacement, Chief Huertas. According to numerous sources familiar with HFD and Chief Huertas, the Chief was told that his appointment was contingent on his Assistant Chief choice. Chief Shapiro, who was more than competent as Acting Assistant  Chief, was returned back to the streets of Hartford as a District Chief and Waller ascended to his throne , apparently courtesy of SKB.

Now apparently the fix is in courtesy of a corrupt administration  led by Mayor Caviar and his rack of lamb crew. Surprise, surprise Terry Waller is the only capable, qualified candidate. No testing, no training assessment, not even management experience requirements. Terry is the guy because he is Sandy's guy.

It is demoralizing for anyone who wishes to move up through the ranks based on merit and not based upon sleeping with a political hack. I know that is a crude assessment, but it is the reality.

Chief Huertas, we all know how the game is played. The choice is now yours. Play the game and potentially endanger the lives of the men and women you have worked with all your career, or say hell no to the little Gigolo and stand up for what you know is the right choice. If they force you out you can at least leave with your head held right , knowing you did what is right for the men and women of the Hartford Fire Department and the people of Hartford.

No job is worth selling your soul, especially to this group. Although I doubt that they have the guts to force you out if you do the right thing. The Hartford Courant is now digging into this, and if the calls I'm getting are on the mark, calls are being made to numerous outside agencies requesting a full review of how the Caviar crew are using the City of Hartford for their own game. I think it is hard to get the attention of  the US Attorney's Office, but when you do...watch out.

When it comes to low hanging fruit of corruption, it doesn't get much easier than Hartford City Hall.

Chief Huertas do what you know is right and stand your ground, for your own reputation and the legacy of your time as the Chief of HFD and for your fellow firefighters. Read some of the comments... we will have your back and support you for doing the right thing

To read the Courant's article ,click here

Thursday, August 14, 2014

MORE PREPARATION FOR HARTFORD ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF PROMOTION

Although the process for selecting  Hartford's next selection for Assistant Chief is still underway, little indications are slipping out of the Mayor's Office as to who the choice may be. The selection is expected to be fully above board without any outside  influence from political operatives tied to Mayor Segarra or any potential candidates.

But in the last few days small indicators are showing that the selection may have been made before the posting  was ever even issued by HR.

The exclusive video of vehicle testing was the first sign, you can view that on the previous posting.

Today exclusive  photos were obtained by "We the People" of new HFD Command Staff turnout gear being modeled for the Mayor and Corporation Counsel as well as HFD Chief Huertas and the Firefighters Union President on the second floor of City Hall.

Here is one of the photos of the exclusive modeling session.

CITY TEST DRIVING NEW VEHICLES FOR ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF AND CORP COUNSEL

Apparently after the sham job posting was released for the position of Hartford Fire Assistant Chief, the City's Fleet Manager began test driving  vehicles to assign as "HFD  Car 2"  ." We the People" cameras were able to capture exclusive video of those tests. Look closely  and you can observe the vehicles outfitted with booster seats and Jay's Crabshack leftover containers


Monday, August 11, 2014

IMAGINE THIS


I know this is going to be one of those lightning rod posts, but all I can hope for is that it makes people open their minds and think.

Let's, for the sake of argument just say that in April 1999, you had no idea who Ken Kennedy was. You knew he was on the Hartford City Council, but that was it. Also for the sake of argument, let's say you picked up your newspaper that morning and saw that the Councilman was being accused of murdering a 14 year old on a street in Hartford.

 Of course you couldn't know the facts because the incident had just occurred and all you could possibly have known was that a 14 year old was dead.

Now lets put everything that you knew about the 14 year old aside , no prejudged conclusions, just base your decision and opinions  on Kennedy murdering a 14 year old. You may learn later that day through media accounts and talking to people that you know that Kennedy actually had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

 You also learn that Kennedy had been on a side street at 2 or 3 in the morning and saw one of his neighbors being approached by a couple of young men. Kennedy feared that his neighbor may have been about to become a victim of a car jacking. Although Kennedy was not a Police Officer, he felt he had the obligation to act to protect his neighbor.

Kennedy, who had been trained in the use of deadly force and the responsibility of using that force in order to obtain his pistol permit, realized the awesome responsibility he was about to face. As he stepped out of his car, Kennedy yelled for the young men to stop. One of the men pulled out an item that Kennedy believed to be a handgun. As the man pointed it at Kennedy, the Councilman was in fear of his own life. The young man turned and began to run away, still pointing the believed gun at  Kennedy. Kennedy opened fire and struck and killed the 14 year old.

From there Kennedy's life began to immediately unravel. The official investigation began, Hartford Police, State Police, Chief State's Attorney and eventually the FBI and Justice Department because of the outcry from the public. Kennedy knew from being a lawyer that justice would prevail, the same thing that the people in the streets now calling him a murderer were hoping for.

After hours and hours of investigation and testimony, the word started trickling in from every agency involved. Kennedy's taking of a human life was justified under the circumstances.

New London State's Attorney Kevin T. Kane, who was asked to investigate this racially charged case, announced on Wednesday that there are no grounds for prosecuting Mr.Kennedy. Mr. Kane's 201-page report contains testimony by several witnesses to the shooting as well as evidence gathered by state Public Safety Commissioner Henry C. Lee, a renowned forensic scientist.

Critical parts of Mr. Kennedy's story are corroborated by other witnesses.

This fictional story mirrors a sad chapter in Hartford's history. The shooting of a 14 year old by a police officer that sparked unrest in the community. For some reason, Mr. Kennedy who is also a lawyer ,is unwilling or unable to accept the decisions in the shooting case and continues to re-open the wound, even though every one involved agreed that the actions of the Officer were justified.

Kennedy never seems to report the factual evidence, just the part that keeps the community inflamed.
 The officer , as well as his fellow officers on the streets that night had been informed over the radio of a gang of young men that had attempted to pistol whip and car jack people in the Northend that night. A description of the car had been broadcast  and one officer spotted the vehicle . He chased what he believed was the suspect vehicle , the young men bailed and ran from the vehicle. One suspect turned and pointed what the officer believed was a gun at the officer.

The officer perceived a threat from the facsimile weapon and used deadly force. Only after the shooting was the look alike weapon found to be a cigarette lighter shaped like a silver handgun.What was the alternative? Should the officer have waited until he actually saw the flash of a bullet being fired before he reacted. I think most logical people would agree that it would be a little too late for the officer's safety at that point.

Here is a link to a Courant story after the incident

You might be asking why this fictional story and headline about Councilman Kennedy is important today. At tonight's City Council meeting , Kennedy was the author of a resolution trying to keep the Cintron Vaughn Federal Consent decree in place. Why I am not sure, other than to continues to racially divide the City. The decree came out of the 1960's and is extremely outdated. If HPD went by the letter of the decree, there would be no police K-9's...banned. HPD would still be using 38mm revolvers and many other outdated facets of modern day police.

The other issue is that the shooting detailed above came 30 years after the original consent decree. But true to form, Kennedy never misses an opportunity to drive the wedge between HPD and our neighbors or take an opportunity to show his hatred toward our Police Department. And yes I know hatred is a strong word, but in this case it fits..

In any urban City ,police/community relations are fragile at best, but leaders don't ignore what happens, rather they use it as tools to build links to the community and correct what is wrong. I am not aware of one policy that Councilman Kennedy or his Council colleagues have put forth to help with positive change at HPD. Oh yeah, he did question the size of the engines in new cruisers. I hear a lot of people in the community commenting that they trust our cops more now knowing they don't have corvette engines under the hood.

And the programs that would build better community relations, Kennedy and his colleagues do everything to kill them. The Faith Based Initiative which originally showed great promise under Chief Rovella, was kidnapped back by the Council, and is now on life support, if not already declared dead. The PAL program  is still moving forward, mostly because Rovella won't let City Hall grab it from him, and the private sector is making it happen with their funding and support.

And during Kennedy's tirade at the Council meeting tonight on why he still wants to crucify an officer that was cleared of any wrongdoing in the 1999 shooting, his explanation was ludicrous. Kennedy complains that the makeup of HPD still does not represent the demographics of Hartford.

Well who's fault is that? Even if HPD could identify 50 to 100 stellar candidates today, there is no money to hire them. I am told that there are over 400 decent applications at City Hall that are just sitting there, no action on them, because there is no money to hire officers.. Of those 400 applications, approximately 17% are Hartford residents and minorities.

 So where does the blame lie Councilman Kennedy? The Council tonight voted to spend several million dollars around the proposed Rock Cats stadium development area. Where is that money coming from in a broke City and if Kennedy and his colleagues weren't talking out of both sides of their mouths, a couple million dollars could hire quite a few police officers that look like their neighbors in the City

I can promise you that those same applications that you are letting age in the HR Department will be making great police officers in Avon , Glastonbury, South Windsor and other neighboring towns who will grab them up as we let them slip through our fingers because you want to relive the past and not move toward the future.

HARTFORD FIRE ASSISTANT CHIEF POSTING

NAP TIME FOR TERRY
Hartford Fire's Terry Waller Catching a few winks during a department meeting, probably a rough night shuttling the Corp Counsel around town
 
The posting has been out for a few days now for the position of Assistant Fire Chief at the Hartford Fire Department. It appears that it was written to accommodate only one person who may be qualified to apply. Well actually the word "qualified " is subjective in this case.
 
Will Chief Huertas stand up to having an Ass. Chief forced upon him or will he just say no?
 
The posting.