Last week, Hartford police released a videoof one of its officers kicking a handcuffed man in the head. On Monday night, about 40 people marched from city hall to the home of the mayor to protest the police use of excessive force.
State prosecutors are continuing their investigation into a June incident captured on dashcam video. After a chase that started in Hartford and ended in West Hartford, officers arrested two men. Once one of them was in custody and kneeling on the ground, an officer can be seen in the video kicking him in the head.
Yesterday, people gathered to speak out against both the use of force and the response to it by Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. Bishop John Selders was one of the organizers. He said he wants to hear more from Bronin.
“He’s able to say, ‘You’re doing a good job, Hartford Police Department or Hartford Fire Department.’ I want him to say: You’re doing a bad job, you need to do better, and here’s some steps to take to do better,” Selders said.
Police released the video only after the officer allegedly involved -- Sgt. Sean Spell -- retired with a nearly $130,000 annual pension. The city said the decision to delay the release of the video came not from within, but from state prosecutors. That didn’t sit well with Selders.
“It just seemed to be dropped just so. The right manner,” Selders said. “And there has to be questions asked about how that happens and why that happens.”
The protest was on the same day that all nine members of the Hartford city council issued a statement saying the video did little to help relations between the police and the community. The statement also called into question the delay of the video’s release, as well as Spell’s pension.
Thomas Clarke II is the Democratic council president.
“This is one thing that should be focused upon because it is unacceptable to have brutality of this magnitude take place in the city,” Clarke said.
Eventually, the rally turned into a brief march, one that ended a few blocks away in the street between Mayor Bronin’s row house and Bushnell Park. Protesters blocked traffic, and police eventually responded -- first with a warning to leave the roadway -- and then arresting those who didn’t.
One by one, officers arrested eight people who remained in the street. Wildaliz Bermudez wasn’t one of them. But she is on the city council with the Working Families party, and was there in support.
“The overuse of force in the police department cannot go on,” Wildaliz said. “It cannot continue. There are lives who are harmed every day. And also people who die because of it, at the hands of the police.”
As it turns out, Bronin wasn’t home. But he did issue a statement saying he shared the anger at the actions of the officer in the video. Bronin said he found it offensive that the officer could retire with such a large pension while under investigation. He also praised the department for transparency, community engagement, and accountability.
The officer’s attorney has declined comment while the investigation is ongoing.
Below is the statement issued by the Hartford city council.
Hartford City Council President Thomas "TJ" Clarke II along with Councilpersons Wildaliz Bermudez, Julio Concepcion, Larry Deutsch, John Gale, Cynthia Jennings, James Sanchez, Glendowlyn Thames and rJo Winch today issued a statement regarding the video released by the Hartford Police Department, calling for a review of city policies and questioned the delay in the video being released to the public.
“The release of this video is not only troubling but long overdue. While a rush to judgment benefits no one, the image itself does little to help police-community relations. Moreover, the delay by the state’s attorney’s office in its' release only adds to residents’ concerns about transparency when it comes to law enforcement policing their own.
Beyond the video, this incident highlights current policies that allow a law enforcement officer to accrue significant overtime and retire while under investigation. Regardless of the outcome of this inquiry, the officer in question leaves the department not only under a cloud of suspicion, but also with a significant pension, funded by taxpayer dollars. Should this investigation yield a finding of excessive force, that fact will add insult to injury and potentially further damage the already fragile view of police officers held by some members of the community.
Had the video’s release not been delayed, perhaps the city could have intervened to postpone such actions. It is incumbent upon us as city leaders to ensure that our policies and procedures do not position public servants to be rewarded for abusing the public trust.
Our community has seen countless incidents across this country of unarmed and/or subdued citizens being confronted by police, at times with deadly consequences. Hartford has had its' own unfortunate cases of the use of excessive force, including the years of confrontation between police and the community that resulted in the Cintron v. Vaughn decree. The actions viewed on the police video reinforce that we still have much to do, to strengthen police-community relations, and a review of our existing policies is a first and critical step.”
