As residents and taxpayers of Hartford it seems that we constantly are taken as the deep pocket victims by everyone wanting to make a quick buck at our expense.
Whether it was the former Mayor who had no problem stealing from us or the Chief Operating Officer for the Hartford Schools allegedly terminated for being a thief we need to say we are tired of it and we are not going to take it anymore
Hartford City Government and the Hartford Schools are both corrupt organizations. We see this time and time again. Now we see the Chief Operating Officer for the Hartford Schools being terminated over the alleged theft and "misappropriation" of thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment.
According to the termination letter he reportedly admitted to the theft.
I have a hard time in believing, and very little confidence in the so called "Investigation" conducted internally by the Hartford Schools.
Where is the HPD investigation? Shouldn't the theft of a large amount of equipment automatically be referred to the Hartford Police for criminal prosecution or are high ranking Government officials exempt from being held accountable for their actions.
And don't we as residents and taxpayers deserve an explanation and reassurance that Government are being responsible stewards of OUR MONEY. And yes it is our money that is being stolen.
Now I wouldn't trust the word of the Superintendent and her allegations against Colon-Rivas and one ounce of weight on her word. Too many bad things are going on in the Hartford Schools right now and some clarity and accountability need to be brought to these operations.
If Jose Colon-Rivas is a thief, we deserve to know that and see it verified by his arraignment on theft from a Municipality Larceny charges, if the story was concocted by the Superintendent for any other reason we need to know that and demand her resignation immediately as well, that is called blind justice, no one should be exempt.
The Hartford Police Department has been doing a great job lately enforcing traffic laws. The Traffic Division is issuing record numbers of citations and making contacts with drivers across the City.
Whether it is for distracted driving, seat belt checkpoints, DUI arrests or just poor driving habits, the numbers are way up.
I think though , that there is one area that needs some additional attention, Handicapped Parking Permit abuse.
Many people think nothing of using a hang tag from a seas relative or using a tag from someone else even when they aren't in the vehicle. The State of Connecticut has made it a little tougher now that tags can be individually tracked with an ID number on them, but that requires a Police Officer to actually take the time to check that the tag is with the actual owner.CONNECTICUT NO LONGER ISSUES "LIFETIME" TAGS., THEY MUST ALL BE RENEWED PERIODICALLY NOW.
Just drive into the Walmart lot and see how many people think nothing of using a Handicapped parking space for their own premium parking space. And it is not just Walmart, it happens across the City, everyday by selfish people who don't think that may be taking up a valuable spot for someone that just might really need the space.
I have personally observed Handicap Parking violations by everyone from a State Representative, legislative plates and all, clearly abusing a Handicapped Parking space, a Police Officer in a Handicapped Parking space in front of City Hall because "he was just running in quick to pay his taxes" and a UPS truck delivering packages to a Medical Office building. What possible need could there be for someone using a Handicap space at a doctor's office?
I think it might be time to send a message with a focused effort on Handicap Parking violations campaign, similar to what is done for distracted driving regularly. Handicapped parking rules are in place for some of our most vulnerable members of our communities and HPD could send a clear message that enforcement is a priority. Even one day quarterly would make a difference and increase awareness.
And yes, in full disclosure, after my third stroke I did get a Handicap parking permit and I fully understand the need for the tags as well as the abuses.
THE HANDICAP PARKING ABUSE WALL OF SHAME
UPS driver in a Handicapped space
Staet Representative getting his Dunkin Donuts "fix" in a Handicap space ( no permit)
HPD Officer running in to City Hall to pay taxes parked in a Handicap spot (He no longer works here)
Here are some video's of what other Cities are doing
"According to sources, a Hartford Police Department Lieutenant was assaulted last night during an off duty incident. Lieutenant Paul West was reportedly assaulted during an altercation in his Windsor home last.
West was reportedly struck in the head with a baseball bat by his assailant
Windsor Police are investigating the incident. Lt. West was transported to an area hospital by ambulance where he was receiving treatment for his injuries as of late last night"
Here is an update and more details:
On Friday May 3, 2019 at about 7:40 pm the Windsor Police Department responded to ** ******** ***** for a fight that involved Rosa Milner, 32 of 142 School St. Danielson CT. It appears that Milner was with others
who went to ** ******** ***** to confront one of the residents there. During this confrontation a physical altercation broke out and Paul West (HPD off duty LT.) attempted to break it up. Mr. West was struck on the head with a baseball bat by an unidentified suspect. West was transported
to Hartford Hospital for treatment.
For her role in the fight, Rosa Colon was arrested and charged with Breach of Peace 2nd degree 53a-181 and Assault 3rd 53a-61. Colon posted a $2,500 bond and will be arraigned at GA 13
on May 14.
The incident is still being investigated by Windsor PD and additional arrests are anticipated
Paul West was released from the Hospital Sunday
Lt Wests home address was redacted for privacy concerns
According to sources, a Hartford Police Department was assaulted last night during an off duty incident. Lieutenant Paul West was reportedly assaulted during an altercation in his Windsor home last night.
West was reportedly struck in the head with a baseball bat by his assailant
Windsor Police are investigating the incident. Lt. West was transported to an area hospital by ambulance where he was receiving treatment for his injuries as of late last nigh
Watch the video above and you will see at about the one minute mark when the driver realizes he struck another vehicle and he gets out to try to put the fender back in place on the car he is trying tom tow. Heres the story:
The victim of Whitey's actions works with a family in Hartford that had a verbal agreement with their then complex manager that she could park in their parking lot during these working sessions. On 2/19/19, after a disagreement with the family, the complex manager chose to retaliate by calling Whitey’s Towing to have her car towed from their lot.(The property manager eventually admitted to their retaliation and provided the security footage above) In the video from the security cameras of the complex, the tow truck driver towed her AWD vehicle with its rear wheels on the ground and promptly towed my vehicle into another on the lot. Towing an AWD car on its rear wheels can cause severe damage to the transmission. I wish I could say that this is where the bad experience ends, but it does not. The tow truck driver can be seen getting out of his vehicle to check the significant damage and then choosing to drive away without notifying anyone or doing anything to rectify the situation. In addition to not notifying anyone of the damage caused, the tow truck driver failed to report the towing to the police as is required by law. Because of this, she believed her car to be stolen when she came outside and did not see her vehicle and the police advised her that they had no record of the tow.
Finally, she was able to connect with someone who advised her that her car had been towed and got in touch with Whitey’s to get her car back. Here is where things took a turn for the worse, surprising, the victim was already aware of other troublesome actions of Whitey’s towing. When she retrieved her vehicle, at 9pm at night, when it was not possible to see the damage for myself, the driver from Whitey’s did not tell her about the damage. Instead he condescendingly bragged to her about going back to “rape” the rest of the cars at the complex she was at. Unfortunately the absolutely disgusting rape joke wasn’t as bad as this gets. This driver continued his misplaced condescension by telling her that her car has a “special clutch” that allows it to be towed on it’s rear wheels when she asked if he’d used a flatbed to tow her car. No such thing exists, as confirmed by my dealership and later admitted by Whitey’s. Either their driver has absolutely no business towing cars or is an especially stupid liar given the easy discredit of his story.
The next day, it snowed, so she was unable to, nor had any reason at that point to inspect my vehicle for further damage. On Thursday following the incident, she did find the damage caused by Whitey’s crashing my car into another vehicle by the tow. At that point she obtained the complex security footage that confirmed their utter incompetence. She immediately contacted Whitey’s in an attempt to maturely have the situation resolved. Instead she was met with utter disrespect from every employee she spoke to. They either straight up hung up on her or advised her that Ron, the owner, was not in, but they’d have him return her calls. He never did.
After a week of being ignored, she filed a police report. While she was filing her report, the police called Ron who acknowledged that Whitey’s was at fault and stated he would repair the damages. When she contacted Ron following this, she was met with complete sarcasm and continued disrespect, but ultimately he apologized, advised her that he had fired the driver from the video, and offered to have his friend’s garage fix her car. As is her right, she did not want the people responsible for her car’s damage being the ones to “fix” or “estimate” the amount of damage they caused. The victim explained to Ron that she would feel more comfortable getting an estimate from an independent third party shop. Ron asked that she send him a copy of the estimate prior to having any work done. Since then, Whitey’s has not returned any of her phone calls. Her insurance agency reached out to Whitey’s and they are now denying all liability despite the video evidence, admission of guilt to the police, and acknowledgement of fault to the victim.
Whitey's Towing has an "F" (failure) rating with the Better Business Bureau ACCORDING TO THE BBB webpage and despite the claim that they tow for the Hartford Police Department, they DO NOT. Their contract with the Hartford Police Department was not renewed and they no longer tow for HPD.The on-line reviews and customer complaints on the BBB website depict other horror stories similar to the experience above.https://www.bbb.org/us/ct/hartford/profile/towing-company/whiteys-inc-0111-77000757
One person gave some very wise advice in her complaint "This place needs to be shut down asap. The ********** that I talked to needs to have therapy. Avoid dealing with this place if at all possible. "In the meantime, the predatory towing practices of Whitey's and other companies that victimize the people of Hartford need to be looked at, and better regulated by the City and the Hartford City Council, this has gone on for far too long. DMV should also be looking into this. I am not sure why no charges for evading have been brought yet by HPD for the drivers actions.
Calls to Ron at Whitey's for comment were not returned, surprise surprise and I experienced the rudeness of the business myself and clearly customer service is not their strong point.
THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE STRICTLY THAT, MY OPINIONS.After getting fed up with the lack of openness in Hartford City Hall, I decided to begin a program on Hartford Public Access Television called "WE THE PEOPLE". Through tips received we have been able to expose numerous issues that the Perez Administration would prefer to keep quiet.
Any information received is kept in strict confidence, feel free to e-mail me at krbrookman@earthlink.net or call me at 860-883-2297 with any information.