Search This Blog

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

HARTFORD CITY COUNCIL SHOOTS DOWN BODY CAMERA RESOLUTION

There is always a back story in Hartford City Hall, and quite often it gets in the way of doing the right thing for the people of Hartford.. Last nights Council meeting and the action on Mayor Bronin's resolution for replacement cruiser cameras, body cameras and Tasers was a prime example.
For years, residents of Hartford have been pushing for body worn cameras for Hartford Police Officers, as well as in cruiser camera video for all patrol units. The use of body cameras is just one step in furthering transparency and building stronger trust between residents and their Police Officers on the street.
Much work has been done on this by HPD Command staff and the community to develop policies and procedures that are acceptable to all, or most, parties involved. 
HPD had apparently felt that they had reached that point and after an extensive search, a vendor was selected that would meet the needs and requirements of HPD. Axon is a national vendor that supplies camera systems and less than lethal defensive weapons (Tasers) to many police agencies across the Country. In most cases when the news broadcasts video of a Police Shooting, that is from an Axon body camera and their logo is evident on the video.
Several requirements made Axon the clear choice for Hartford. First and foremost from what I am told is that Axon was able to integrate  all of their technology seamlessly  and essentially remove the "human factor" from the camera process. Dash Cameras , and body cameras would begin recording immediately when an officer activates the lights or siren in their cruiser. The video would start recording immediately when an Officer un-holsters their firearm or Taser. Other systems require an Officer to press a record button on the unit to start recording, and in all honesty, does anyone think that would be the officers number one priority if they are in a use of deadly force situation?
And if the officer forgets to hit the record button because they are too busy trying to save their own life or someone else's, how does the community react when they are told there is no video because the officer "forgot" to activate their body cam? 
HPD's requirement that the human factor be removed  makes sense and is part of the transparency that  we  as a community are looking for.
One of the other major issues many Police Agencies struggle with are the high costs of storage for the body cam video. Axon's proposal includes unlimited  "cloud" storage as part of their proposals pricing.
 In order to receive the reimbursement for the equipment costs from the State of Connecticut, the deal needs to be closed by June 30th.
Now here is what I am being told about those dirty deals I mentioned earlier. One Council source told me that the vote not to approve the contract was a message to Mayor Bronin, who they claim thrust this decision on the Council in the final hours without allowing them proper time to consider  the deal.
I am not really sure what the Council needs to consider, the City has a competent Police Chief that oversaw the project and with his Command Staff made the necessary recommendations. Can anyone on the Council tell me that they are better informed on this technology than Chief Rosado?
Now this makes more sense to me though. Apparently a Council member has a "fraternity" brother who is affiliated with the rival company trying to get the Hartford body cam contract. Even though that company didn't meet all of Hartford's requirement , the Council member was still trying to fulfill his loyalties to his frat brother through a multi million dollar contract. 
It also appears that the opposing company is represented by a lobbyist who is also the brother of a high ranking City Official. So much for ethics and conflicts of interest. It is Hartford you know. Is it time for another Grand Jury.  I find it hard to believe that no one was going to benefit by steering the contract away from the HPD chosen vendor to a less than qualified company.
I guess we will see what happens at the Special Council meeting Thursday night.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

WFP ANNOUNCES REPLACEMENT AFTER JENNINGS FORCED RESIGNATION

20180620155452 by  on Scribd

The Hartford City Council minority party, the  Working Families Party ,have announced their choice for the replacement of former Council member Cynthia Jennings who essentially resigned from the Council when she changed her party affiliation to Democrat.
The appointment still requires a vote by the full Council for approval.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

CHIEF ROSADO-1, MAYOR BRONIN-0

Leadership requires vision. And I mean real vision, not just the vision to see the TV microphones strapped to the podium and finding your way to thump your chest in front of TV cameras and take claim for good things happening, even when others are actually making the good things happen.

No, vision and leadership require identifying problems and coming up with solutions long before they rise to a crisis situation.

It is also kind of sad that a brand new Police Chief coming in from the outside has hit the ground running and is already listening to residents as well as Police personnel and improving the level of service delivered to the people of Hartford. From what several sources within HPD and City Hall have told me, David Rosado is doing a great job, but he is not operating on an island either. Rosado is not afraid to reach out for help. Rosado has put together a great "summer" policing plan by bringing in anyone and everyone willing to help.

Our Federal partners including the US Attorneys Office and Federal agencies will be helping Hartford combat violent crimes and guns on our streets.

I have to ask why did it take the arrival of David Rosado to get the ball rolling. Maybe it is because our Mayor has been too busy with other conquests on his personal political agenda rather than listening to and doing what is best for the people that elected him in the first place.

Did Luke just realize he has a major gun and shootings problem in his City. Why didn't he start last winter putting together a plan and pulling all of the available partners together?

How is it that Chief Rosado realized that cutting cars from Patrol didn't make sense. The number of Patrol Units on Hartford's streets during the day and evening shifts has essentially been doubled in the last couple weeks. The use of the Patrol Vans to pick of people arrested around the City and transport them back to booking is a no brainer and Chief Rosado implemented the plan to make that happen. Rosado apparently is also listening to residents since walk beats have been reinstituted  in key troubled areas in the City and the walk beats are probably one of the top issues brought up at Community meetings.

I was amazed last week when I heard Mayor Luke Bronin  proclaiming to the TV cameras that the Hartford Police Department is in the best condition it has been in in years. Is Bronin that far out of touch with his Police Department?  I think anyone familiar with HPD would admit staffing is the worst it has been in years and as Mayor, you can't run to the Podium with those  microphones and TV cameras when a tragedy strikes HPD without assuming a well deserved role in the blame  for an officer's getting injured in an understaffed Department.  That may be harsh, but it is true

HPD is approaching being almost 150 Officer's short with the potential for another 30 eligible to leave by July 1, 2018, And yes, to be fair, Bronin has been hiring Cops, but his hiring numbers are not even coming close to the numbers leaving.  The attrition far outweighs the new hires.

Until City Hall wakes up, hopefully Chief Rosado will continue pushing forward and fighting for what is in the best interests of the people of Hartford. Lives depend on it

BOUGHT AND PAID FOR, CDBG GRANTS REVEALED

A large amount of money is handed out every year through Hartford City Hall with very little notice or scrutiny.

Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are handed out every year. Many of the Grants serve  valid purposes for funding City non-profits that actually provide services, but many more of the dollars amount to very little more than a political slush fund. Many of the dollar amounts are routinely handed out year after year with very little scrutiny or supervision or reporting as to their use.

Much of the money also goes to administrative costs and "Executive Director" positions as opposed to actual programming in the Community.

As an example of the alleged abuses, one Executive Director of a recipient on this years list, Zezzo House, was recently indicted for "misappropriating" thousands of dollars in Grant Money.
Steven F. Harvin, 53, of New Haven, was presented Tuesday to a federal magistrate to face charges of wire fraud and theft from programs receiving federal funds.  The former head of the Hartford nonprofit has been arrested on charges he stole federal money intended to benefit people afflicted with health challenges and HIV,  Federal authorities say.

Here is more on that story from the Hartford Business Journal
http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20180612/NEWS01/180619976/ex-head-of-zezzo-house-indicted-for-fraud


Here is a partial list of this years grants



Thursday, June 7, 2018

I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, HARTFORD IS A POLITICAL MESS



Does anyone wonder why elected officials from across the State aren't enthusiastically jumping on board to support Hartford's bailout/

Here is the simple answer, I think most people, even casual observers, realize Hartford is a hot mess, devoid of any real leadership. This isn't a new phenomenon for Connecticut's Capitol City, but I think it is actually getting worse and it almost seems like the residents just don't care. Voter turnout is abysmal, voter involvement is even worse and there is virtually no accountability for the under life at City Hall. 

Earlier this week I broke the story about Working Families Councilwoman Cynthia Jennings and her antics. Even though Jennings was elected as a Working Families Party member and gladly accepted the support and votes from Hartford residents willing to vote for her, under the cover of darkness she decided she would rather be a Democrat.

I'm not really sure what the difference is between a Democrat and a Working Families Party candidate, aside from the fact that they aren't Republicans. And under the State's minority representation laws, The WFP has a better chance of grabbing minority seats by not officially being "Democrats".

Here is Hartford City Clerk John Bazzano's take on the matter

Now you would have thought that WFP Councilwoman Jennings would have pulled out her official "rule Book", also known as the Hartford Municipal Code and done a little research. It clearly states that Jennings actions were improper and would essentially result in her forced resignation from the Council

This is the specific wording from the Hartford Municipal Code:(c)

Vacancies in various elective offices.                             

(1)

Vacancies resulting from changes in member's residence or political party registration. A member of the council shall be deemed to have resigned upon ceasing to be a resident of the city. With the exception of the final three (3) months of the term of office, a member of council who changes political party registration and thereby alters the party composition of the council shall be deemed to have resigned. 


And as a lawyer, Jennings should be familiar with how to research Connecticut State Statutes, and she would have found that her antics were also illegal under Minority Representation Laws, 9-167a.And even worse is that Jennings withheld her actions from her fellow Council members, her Working Families colleagues and most importantly, from the voters of the City of Hartford, all while she continued to fraudulently collect her salary and benefits from the taxpayers.


If her actions were even close to being considered legitimate, why was there no public announcement or even a press release? Why did she continue to identify herself as a WFP member and sit with the other WFP members at Council meetings?

And an even bigger issue is being researched by staff in the City Clerks Office. How much of the Councils business since she jumped ship in January can possibly have been affected by her illegitimate presence on the Council? What about her actions moving items out of committee as a result  her motions or referrals forward or even seconding a motion.

Jennings irresponsible actions may have placed a half year of the Council's work in potential jeopardy.. Councilwoman Jennings needs to be held accountable for her unlawful actions as well as any costs involved and any payment or benefits provided to her since she jumped ship. These dollars need to be recovered for the taxpayers of Hartford, as well as to set an example that we place trust in our elected officials and we won't tolerate any abuse of that trust

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

WORKING FAMILIES STATEMENT ON JENNING'S RESIGNATION

In response to Cynthia Jennings’ stepping down from the Hartford City Council:


Lindsay Farrell, state director, CT Working Families Party:

Cynthia Jennings earned the nomination of the Working Families Party and was elected by the voters of Hartford as a City Councilwoman. Given that the voters elected a WFP nominee, we plan to honor their votes by looking into our local membership to fill the vacancy. We hope for a process free of political vengeance and maneuvering.


"In her time on the Hartford City Council, Cynthia has earned a reputation as a champion of environmental justice. We have been proud to work with her, and we look forward to continuing to build a stronger, fairer Hartford with her WFP successor.”