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Monday, January 9, 2017
FROM HPD, HOMICIDE NUMBER 2 IN ONE WEEK
"On January 08, 2017, at 2245 hours, patrol units responded to the area of 72-74 Stonington Street for a shotspotter activation of one round. While en route, officers were advised by dispatch that a male suffering from a gunshot wound was transported to Hartford Hospital via private vehicle. The victim succumbed to his injuries (a single GSW in the head) and was pronounced deceased at 11pm. A crime scene was established in the rear parking lot of 50-52 Lisbon Street. The Major Crimes and Crime Scene divisions responded and assumed the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hartford Police Department 860-757-4316 and anonymous tips can be left at the HPD websitehttp://www.hartford.gov/Police “Submit A Tip”
According to sources, the disagreement may have started over a parking space
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
ONE YEAR LATER, WHAT HAS CHANGED?
I am not sure if those failures are because of inexperience or attitude, or a combination of both. The "sky is falling" mantra by Bronin worked in the beginning in drawing attention to our problems as a City, but you can only play Chicken Little for so long before it becomes tiring as well as ineffective.
Although Bronin's first move was to slash City jobs through lay-offs, many of those laid off were some of the lowest paid employees, and the ranks of high priced management positions, some of them actually residing in the Mayor's Office and throughout City Hall, have continued to grow.
Claims of inviting the Union's to the table to be part of the solution seemed as though those invitations got lost in the mail, and aside from a new Fire contract, nothing much else has changed. It doesn't appear as though Hartford has made any moves to restructure cost associated with employee benefits such as moving to HSA's as the City of New Britain recently did.
Although Bronin did promise hiring of Police and Fire personnel to reduce overtime costs, none of that has happened . The October Police Academy class that was promised has never happened and the January recruit class that was promised isn't even any where near close to happening, and the attrition draws the numbers at HPD lower everyday.
Luckily, even with a thinly stretched Police Department, it is still functioning and Hartford saw one of its best years in lowering Homicide numbers in a few decades. Hartford finished the year with 14 total Homicides for 2016 compared to 31 for 2015. Those reduced numbers though had very little to do with the current Administration and more with the creative efforts of HPD and its leadership under Chief Rovella, although I am confident a press release will be out any day by the Bronin Administration taking credit for reduced crime.
Those efforts still include the results of the Shooting Task Force and the creation of C4 under Rovella's creativity. C4 is the acronym for the Capitol City Crime Center, which has blanketed the City with technology to reduce crime, including cameras, Shot Spotter technology and license plate readers scanning for criminal activity. Imagine what could be accomplished with the additional Police Officers promised by Bronin if he only came through on his promises. The efforts of C4 have been very successful in reducing crime and identifying violent criminals on our streets
The Bronin promise of hiring 45 firefighters also appears to be a pipe dream of broken promises. Although Bronin had held a dog and pony show last fall to proclaim his plans to hire 45 fire recruits, he knew, or should have known at the time of his announcement that his request for the FEMA grant for the hiring had been rejected and no money was available for the 45 new hires.
And just as a thought, can we also push for regional cooperation and tell our neighbors that they are not eligible to apply for our Fire Department if they aren't Hartford residents. That sounds a little hypocritical. Lets find the best candidates we can, no matter where they live, and then make it inviting for them to move into Hartford if they wish
Now I know that Bronin inherited a mess, including the baseball stadium, but after a year of failed or poor decisions, Bronin now owns all those messes. Where are the solutions? What is the plan besides the "sky is falling"?
Regionalism? Good idea but we need partners to buy in on that. Bronin may actually have the right idea moving in that direction, "as goes Hartford, so goes the region" . The problem being, I would expect more from an attorney who should know he needs to make his case first. Bronin seems to be going around asking for the Jury's verdict before he even has laid out his case as to why the Jury needs to rule in his favor. It isn't working and the script never changes.
Walk out to the podium , take off the suit jacket roll up the sleeves and start proclaiming "Hartford is broke" . Where is the leadership by example? Build the case that the tough decisions are being made and Hartford is on a path to tightening its belt and becoming financially responsible and we want our suburban neighbors to buy in as equal partners. We haven't done that yet and shoving our MDC responsibilities down the throats of our suburban neighbors isn't going to help.
The cutting needs to continue in every corner of City Hall and nothing should be off limits, if that means bankruptcy to get at Union contracts and benefits , then do it, and shut up. Stop leaving our employees in a state of suspended animation as they await their future. They will get out of here at the first chance they have if they are kept in the dark and we can't afford to lose any more good employees.
I personally don't think bankruptcy is the solution as business as usual remains the same at City Hall and it would take us years to recover from a bankruptcy filing. I think we now have half the members of the Hartford County Bar collecting paychecks from their jobs at City Hall and I have to ask if that is money well spent?
We all know the State of Connecticut is probably in worse shape than Hartford, and we can't count on any financial help from the Capitol. We also know that City hall didn't campaign for our next President, so that might be a tough sell to get Washington to open their wallet for us. ( Elections have consequences)
We elected a Mayor to bring leadership to City Hall during what we knew were going to be difficult times, now it is your time to come through with a plan and some workable solutions and put aside the Chicken Little act, it is wearing thin.
Friday, December 16, 2016
FROM HPD: WIFE TRIES TO SHOOT HUSBAND DURING DOMESTIC INCIDENT
On December 15, 2016, at 6:36pm Hartford Police Department patrol officers responded to the area of Wethersfield Avenue at Elliot Street in response to a citizen report of a shooting incident. The citizen caller reported the incident
involved her daughter who had attempted to shoot her husband during an altercation. HPD Patrol
officers responded to the incident location and located the victim (31yo male from Htfd)
outside the Premium Grocery at 347 Wethersfield Avenue. The victim stated that he had been
approached by his estranged wife, Madeline Mercado, while outside the Premium Grocery while he
was operating his Nissan Maxima. He told officers that she had approached him in his vehicle
and began banging on the front passenger window with a firearm while he was parked outside the
grocery. She then pointed the firearm at him and while in close proximity, shot at him once. He
reported that she then fled the incident location on foot towards 25 Elliot Street. The listed
vehicle was located on scene and observed to have a broken window, and a hole in the front
passenger side door consistent with that of a gunshot. The victim was found to have suffered
no injuries as a result of the incident and declined medical attention. The projectile appeared
to have lodged within the passenger compartment of the vehicle and the vehicle was seized as
evidence. Detectives from the Hartford Shooting Task Force responded to the location to assist patrol
officers in the ongoing investigation. Madeline Mercado was located at 25 Elliot Street and
agreed to provide a statement to the investigators in relation to the incident. She claimed
she had been involved in an altercation with her estranged husband at the location and was
forced to discharge her firearm at him in self defense. Madeline Mercado was found to hold a
valid CT pistol permit and freely turned over her registered firearm that was used during
the incident, a Ruger LC9 9mm firearm containing five live 9mm rounds. Both were then transported to HPD to conduct interviews with the STF Detectives in regards to
the incident. In the course of the Detective's investigation, video surveillance footage was
located by analysts in the HPD Crime Center. The video was not consistent with the details
provided by Ms. Mercado. As a result of a thorough review of all recovered evidence and the
interviews, HPD officers developed probable cause to charge Madeline Mercado in connection to
the shooting. Madeline Mercado was transported to HPD booking for processing procedures and charged with
Criminal Attempt Assault 1st Degree, Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm, Reckless Endangerment
1st Degree, Criminal Mischief 2nd Degree, and Breach of Peace 2nd Degree.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
ARE WE SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING GUNS OFF OUR STREETS?
It is going to take more than just parading victims of gun crime at political events to curb the gun violence in our cities. It is going to take creative efforts and a real commitment to ending gun violence.
Locally, one of the most creative efforts to combat gun violence was created by our own Chief of Police while he was still an inspector with the Connecticut Chief States Attorney's Office. James Rovella gave birth to Hartford's Shooting Task Force when he was directed to "do something" about the gun violence in Hartford.
The results have been phenomenal , even though STF is a shadow of what it once was when Rovella put his initial team together. The original team was a great, and very effective, combination of local, State and Federal authorities working together in a unique partnership that produced very solid results. The reputation of "STF" quickly grew and people carrying illegal guns on our streets felt the results. Very few people, both criminals and law abiding Citizens alike, didn't recognize the initials "STF" and what they were doing on our streets.
A main part of that success is not only the law enforcement aspect, but the court system follow through and sending penalties that show we are serious about illegal guns and shootings on Hartford's streets Unfortunately that message from our State courts is not as strong as it used to be. Budget cuts are hurting everyone and that may be p[art of the reason, but it also seems as though there is a reluctance on the part of the States Attorney and the court to relinquish control of some of these cases to the Federal level for more severe attention.
Sources from both the State and Federal level familiar with the two Court systems have described a type of "turf war". Federal prosecutors are apparently more than willing to take on gun prosecutions that meet their thresholds, but the State courts are unwilling to make that transition or allow the cases to move forward federally. I am told that criminals are more fearful of the Federal system than they are of the State prosecutions with the main reason being the sentences. Apparently a person convicted under Federal law is required to serve 80% of their sentence, no deals , no second chances.
I tend to agree with that, since many of the people winding their way through our State courts seem to be frequent flyers with numerous felony arrests. If we are going to be serious about ridding our streets of illegal guns, more creative partnerships need to be created. A good start to that would be calling upon our Federal Government to be real partners, not just talking heads at election time. The FBI, ATF, DEA, Homeland Security, US Marshall's. Hell, any Federal agency with powers of arrest that carry a badge and a gun should be part of a reconstituted STF.
We know most municipalities are stretched pretty thin with staffing and the State law enforcement is going to get worse before it gets better. But we don't want to get caught sending the message to criminals that their chances of getting caught are less likely, they need to know their odds of getting caught are better than ever.
Beefing up the Federal involvement would also serve another purpose. Federal agents making the arrests would enable the cases to go Federally right from the start. No turf wars, no jurisdictional bickering. Federal prosecutions and Federal jail time right from the start. I'm pretty sure that is a message that would be taken seriously by our local criminals who have gotten used to terrorizing our neighborhoods with a slap on the wrist. I am pretty sure that local officers could be "cross sworn" as Federal agents also allowing them to make Federal arrests
It would probably also serve the purpose of identifying the pipelines used for getting these guns on our streets with Federal agencies cooperating in the investigations and sharing information
It might be a novel idea, but it is also the creativity and "thinking outside the box" we need if we are going to be serious about gun violence
Locally, one of the most creative efforts to combat gun violence was created by our own Chief of Police while he was still an inspector with the Connecticut Chief States Attorney's Office. James Rovella gave birth to Hartford's Shooting Task Force when he was directed to "do something" about the gun violence in Hartford.
The results have been phenomenal , even though STF is a shadow of what it once was when Rovella put his initial team together. The original team was a great, and very effective, combination of local, State and Federal authorities working together in a unique partnership that produced very solid results. The reputation of "STF" quickly grew and people carrying illegal guns on our streets felt the results. Very few people, both criminals and law abiding Citizens alike, didn't recognize the initials "STF" and what they were doing on our streets.
A main part of that success is not only the law enforcement aspect, but the court system follow through and sending penalties that show we are serious about illegal guns and shootings on Hartford's streets Unfortunately that message from our State courts is not as strong as it used to be. Budget cuts are hurting everyone and that may be p[art of the reason, but it also seems as though there is a reluctance on the part of the States Attorney and the court to relinquish control of some of these cases to the Federal level for more severe attention.
Sources from both the State and Federal level familiar with the two Court systems have described a type of "turf war". Federal prosecutors are apparently more than willing to take on gun prosecutions that meet their thresholds, but the State courts are unwilling to make that transition or allow the cases to move forward federally. I am told that criminals are more fearful of the Federal system than they are of the State prosecutions with the main reason being the sentences. Apparently a person convicted under Federal law is required to serve 80% of their sentence, no deals , no second chances.
I tend to agree with that, since many of the people winding their way through our State courts seem to be frequent flyers with numerous felony arrests. If we are going to be serious about ridding our streets of illegal guns, more creative partnerships need to be created. A good start to that would be calling upon our Federal Government to be real partners, not just talking heads at election time. The FBI, ATF, DEA, Homeland Security, US Marshall's. Hell, any Federal agency with powers of arrest that carry a badge and a gun should be part of a reconstituted STF.
We know most municipalities are stretched pretty thin with staffing and the State law enforcement is going to get worse before it gets better. But we don't want to get caught sending the message to criminals that their chances of getting caught are less likely, they need to know their odds of getting caught are better than ever.
Beefing up the Federal involvement would also serve another purpose. Federal agents making the arrests would enable the cases to go Federally right from the start. No turf wars, no jurisdictional bickering. Federal prosecutions and Federal jail time right from the start. I'm pretty sure that is a message that would be taken seriously by our local criminals who have gotten used to terrorizing our neighborhoods with a slap on the wrist. I am pretty sure that local officers could be "cross sworn" as Federal agents also allowing them to make Federal arrests
It would probably also serve the purpose of identifying the pipelines used for getting these guns on our streets with Federal agencies cooperating in the investigations and sharing information
It might be a novel idea, but it is also the creativity and "thinking outside the box" we need if we are going to be serious about gun violence
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