Hartford Sergeant Shown On Video Saying He's 'Trigger Happy' Had Been Suspended In 2016 Abuse Incident
By Nicholas Rondinone
Hartford Courant
August 10, 2018
Hartford police officials suspended Sgt. Stephen Barone Friday after a video surfaced that shows him telling suspected trespassers that he is “trigger happy.”
“If anybody wants to fight or run, I’m a little trigger happy guys, I’m not gonna lie. And I get paid a ton of money in overtime, if I have to shoot somebody. So don’t do anything stupid,” Barone is heard telling the group on Heath Street Thursday night in a three-minute clip posted on Facebook Friday.
Barone, a 10-year veteran identified in the video by police officials Friday, was among several officers suspended in an investigation into a 2016 car chase in which then Sgt. Sean Spell kicked a man while he was handcuffed. Barone was later promoted to sergeant.
The video shows the suspects remained calm during the interaction, but one is heard describing the sergeant’s statement about being trigger happy as “spooky.”
“There’s four of you, one of me. Alright?,” Barone then told the group.
It appears that during the conversation at least one other police car arrived at the scene.
Hartford police Assistant Chief Rafael Medina said in an email to community leaders that police are still reviewing the nature of the interaction Barone had with the group, but said he has been placed on leave and internal affairs has started an investigation.
“Regardless of the context or the intent, those statements are entirely unacceptable and represent a fundamental disregard for the conduct we expect and the standards we hold ourselves to,” Medina said. “We look at it from the perspective of the person on the other end of the field interview, and to hear those words isn’t just scary, it projects an image of law enforcement officers who take use of force lightly. As I hope you know, we do not take any use of force lightly as a Department.”
One of the people said they were approached by the police at about 9:30 p.m. She said they were near an abandoned house that her boyfriend is considering buying, given it’s near to a store he runs.
The individual said they were all given a ticket for trespassing after they were searched by officers. She said no contraband was found.
Mayor Luke Bronin condemned the actions by the officer.
“The behavior in this video is completely unacceptable. It’s inconsistent with the values of our police department and our city, and it is deeply damaging and disappointing. Law enforcement officers have a responsibility to treat the use of force and threats of force seriously at all times,” Bronin said. Bronin does not plan to call for an independent investigation, but will rely on the findings of the department’s internal affairs division.
The president of the Hartford police union did not immediately return a call for comment.
During the video, the sergeant voiced concerns that the group was hanging out near a vacant home. He asked anyone if they had any weapons, drugs or any warrants.
He also asked the group for identification. When he asks the individual holding the camera, the video stops.
Barone was assigned in May as the ranking officer in the police department’s Community Response Unit, an initiative under the new chief that is tasked with engaging “in proactive problem resolution for quality of life issues that impact residents, visitors, and those who conduct business within the City.”
Medina said the department is reviewing the unit and its role following Barone’s suspension.
Barone, prior to his promotion to sergeant, was one of several officers disciplined for violating department standards during a police chase in June 2016 that turned physical when then-Sgt. Sean Spell kicked a man, Emilio Diaz, while he was handcuffed on the ground.
He was suspended for four days following a lengthy internal affairs investigation into what transpired that night. Investigators learned that at several times Barone “improperly” stopped the camera in his cruiser, including when he first tried to stop the car and when the chase ended on Flatbush Avenue in West Hartford.
During an interview, investigators said that Barone provided “excuses,” according to the expansive report. Barone, at one point, said it was muscle memory. He also said he manually shut the camera off follwing the chase and during the struggle with Diaz and Ricardo Perez, the two men in the car, because he didn’t think it was “relevant” to record the interaction.
He denied that he turned it off so it wouldn’t capture efforts to take the men into custody, the report read. Given that the camera was shut off, investigators from the state’s attorney’s office “were concerned that the video was physically tampered with” and had hard drives from the cruiser cameras sent for forensic testing.
Despite this, Barone, and a detective who was also involved, were both promoted to sergeant in September of last year. Police officials at the time said they had previously been passed up for promotions at the time because of this incident.
Hartford City Council President Glendowlyn Thames said she was disturbed and disappointed by what she saw on the video.
“It’s extremely troubling. Just based off the video, not knowing the full context, it’s very troubling to see one of our police officers interacting with our citizens in that way. It’s not acceptable behavior. It’s not the model we’re trying to build. As I understand it, the police department has taken swift action to put him on administrative leave,” she said.
She said the officer’s language was “unacceptable.”
In a scathing response to the video, the ACLU of Connecticut echoed statements by others that the actions were unacceptable, while calling into question the quality-of-life policing initiative.
“This video confirms that Hartford’s emphasis on ‘quality-of-life’ policing is not an investment in stronger communities, but in over-policing and under-protecting some city residents. As long as Hartford’s executive branch and police department continue to condone policing without checks and balances created by and for the people, this kind of unacceptable behavior will be a feature of the police department, not a bug,” said Executive Director David McGuire.
Medina said incidents like the one Thursday night do not reflect what the department strives to be in the community.
“We are committed to true community policing and true community partnership, and in this case that means being fully transparent and direct about this incident,” Medina said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I think Barone intended to scare the suspects into compliance without any resistance. But his choice of words was God awful. And him being a white cop and the suspects being black made matters much worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment