CONNECTICUT

Hartford Connecticut Police Officer Eric Lautenbach Gets A Slap On The Wrist For Theft Of Purse At Wal-Mart

2006-08-09 HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT --A city police officer accused of stealing money from a woman's purse at a Wal-Mart store has been given special probation.

Eric Lautenbach, 38, of Newington was arrested last November on a charge of sixth-degree larceny. He was suspended from the police force after the arrest.

According to court records, Lautenbach was working a private security job in uniform at the Wal-Mart in Hartford when he was given a purse for safekeeping after it was misplaced by a customer. Shortly after that, the woman claimed the purse, but discovered the money that had been inside was missing.

A judge Tuesday granted Lautenbach accelerated rehabilitation, a special form of probation, for two years. If he completes his probation, his criminal record in the case will be erased.

Appeared Here.

Altercation Between Man, East Hartford Connecticut Police, Draws Crowd

2006-08-01 EAST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - What started as a request by a police officer that a motorist move his vehicle ended with the use of a stun gun to subdue an angry bystander as a crowd of more than 15 people looked on, police said.

A police officer patrolling Great Hill Road spotted a car parked at an angle that obstructed traffic, as two men stood talking to the driver, according to police.

The driver complied when asked by the officer to move the car. But one of the men who was talking to the driver approached the officer's car and told the officer that he didn't agree that the driver should have to move the car.

The officer believed the aggressive manner of the man, Jermayne Eubanks, 25, of 40 Cannon Road, suggested that he might be intoxicated, according to police.

Fifteen to 25 people were now looking on, according to the arresting officer's report, and the officer ordered Eubanks to go with him away from the others to discuss the disagreement.

Eubanks, whom the officer described as larger than himself, refused, at which point the officer ordered him to put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, the officer reported.

Eubanks refused to obey the officer's orders, and the officer used a stun gun to subdue him, according to police.

After firing the stun gun, the officer used his foot to "push" the kneeling Eubanks to the ground, a move that incited protests from the onlookers, who said the officer had kicked Eubanks, according to police.

A bystander was recording the incident on a handheld camera, and several onlookers accused the officer of singling out Eubanks because he is black, according to the officer's report.

Eubanks is charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with an officer. He was released on $1,000 bond and is due in Manchester Superior on Aug. 21.

Appeared Here.

Bridgeport Connecticut Police Officer Paul Humphrey Arrested, Charged With Choking Man At State Police Barracks

2006-08-01 BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT – A Bridgeport police detention officer was arrested early Saturday after he reportedly choked a prisoner in the booking area at the State Police Troop G barracks in Bridgeport.

Paul Humphrey, 36, of Winchester Avenue, New Haven, was issued a misdemeanor summons charging him with disorderly conduct.

The Bridgeport police booking area is temporarily in the barracks while city police headquarters is being refurbished.

Daniel Chavez, 32, of Hunting Ridge Road, Easton, was being processed at 1:10 a.m. when Humphrey talked with Chavez and yelled at him.

Humphrey then pushed Chavez against the wall and grabbed him by the neck, before officers separated them, according to police.

Police did not disclose the subject of the dispute.

Chavez, whose charges were unavailable, was not injured.

Humphrey was immediately suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident by the Police Department's Office of Internal Affairs, said Lt. James Viadero, police spokesman.

Appeared Here.

West Hartford Connecticut Police Attack and Assault Man Mowing Lawn, Shooting Him With Taser, Then Handcuff Him, Drag His Across Gravel Driveway, Only To Find Out They Got The Wrong Person

2006-07-27 WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT -- Chase E. Garrett was shot by a Taser-brand stun gun behind his former apartment Monday evening when police mistook him for his cousin, Ali Richard, a convicted felon who once was his roommate and is wanted by police.

On those facts, Garrett and West Hartford police agree.

But two competing narratives have since emerged to explain the movements leading up to the firing of the Taser, one of a string of controversial incidents in the region and the nation involving the weapons popular with law enforcement.

As Garrett remembers, he was pushing a lawn mower shirtless behind the two-family house on Oakwood Avenue when he was suddenly struck by the probes of a Taser, leaving him bloody, dizzy and convulsing. While on the ground, he was struck again.

As the police tell it, Garrett turned and ran from a plainclothes detective, and dashed toward a uniformed officer who had approached from the opposite direction. The uniformed officer fired the Taser when Garrett disobeyed his orders to stop.

Police use of Tasers grabbed headlines in nearby New Britain a few weeks ago, when Jesus Negron, 29, died after being shot with a Taser by officers. The medical examiner's office is awaiting toxicology tests before determining the cause of death.

Garrett, who filed a complaint Tuesday with police, was traumatized by the incident, which he said has left his right arm feeling weak.

"I don't want anybody else getting Tasered, especially if they don't deserve it. I want the officers who did this to me to think about this," he said, angry that no officer apologized when they realized he was the wrong man.

Police use of Tasers has been the subject of several civil liberties lawsuits, including at least one in Connecticut. Since 1986, more than 180 people have died nationwide after confrontations with police using Tasers and other stun guns, according to Amnesty International and others. The U.S. Department of Justice is looking into many of those deaths.

"In-custody deaths are a tragic accident of law enforcement and have been occurring long before Taser International was founded," said Steve Tuttle, spokesman for the Arizona-based company. "The more we can understand and research the circumstances leading to in-custody deaths, the more opportunity we have to develop tactics and procedures that may help prevent these unfortunate incidents."

As for incidents where Tasers may be fired inappropriately, Tuttle said, "We're not the ones firing the weapons."

Two months ago, an Enfield police officer was charged with third-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment, and placed on paid leave after his Taser discharged, striking another officer. The incident occurred as the officers were testing their equipment.

Garrett, 23, who now lives in Hartford, was mowing the lawn to make some money to re-enroll at Gibbs College in Farmington, where he has studied clothing design, he said. He moved into the Oakwood Avenue apartment last year with his cousin and said he was hoping to be a positive influence on him.

Richard, 27, described by police as a violent man who has used firearms in the past, is wanted by police for fleeing during a traffic stop on June 29. He was released from prison on parole in May 2005 after being convicted of several felonies including robbery, kidnapping and burglary, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He is 5 feet 7, according to prison records, and stocky with lighter skin and green eyes, Garret says.

Garrett is taller, darker and very skinny. "They can't tell that?" Garrett said. "And why would a fugitive be in his own yard cutting grass?"

After hitting Garrett with the stun gun, handcuffing him and dragging him across a gravel portion of a driveway, Garrett said, police pulled his wallet from his pants, discovered his license and realized they had the wrong man. "They just looked at each other like they screwed up," he said. He said he hasn't seen his cousin in months.

Police say Garrett was hit when he was just 5 feet from the uniformed officer who hit him with the Taser, according to a press release prepared by Lt. Donald Melanson. Garrett refused medical treatment after the incident, the press release says.

When asked about how the officers could have mistaken Garrett for Richard, Lt. Donald Mel- anson said that he could not go into greater detail about the incident. "The officers believed that Chase was Ali," he said.

In response to Garrett's claim that he was hit twice with the Taser, Melanson said information that can be extracted from each gun shows that the gun that hit Garrett was only fired once. Garrett could have believed he was hit twice because probes fired at the same time from a Taser are designed to soar at different trajectories and strike a suspect in two different spots, he said.

Roger Vann, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, said the incident should prompt the state to look at standardizing policy on Tasers, estimated to be in use by one-third to one-half of police departments in the state. "The Taser companies come in and do their dog and pony shows with the police departments and advise them on what kinds of regulations should be put into place and the police take their word," Vann said. "I think there needs to be a check on that process."

In West Hartford, the policy states that officers "use only the level of force reasonably necessary to control or otherwise subdue violent or potentially violent individuals."

Appeared Here.

Sweet Deal: Veteran Danbury Connecticut Police Officer Patrick Barry Receives A Slap On The Wrist For Beating Pregnant Girlfriend, 2004 Assault Charges For Beating Motorist Disappear, And He Receives A Police Pension For Disability

2006-07-26 DANBURY, CONNECTICUT - A former Danbury police officer drew a six-month suspended jail term and two years on probation for an incident in which police said he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend earlier this year.

Patrick Barry, 35, was living on Chestnut Street in Bethel at the time of the April 30 incident there.

Prosecutors lowered the assault charge to breach of peace last Wednesday, and Barry was sentenced to the suspended term.

Last Wednesday prosecutors also nolled, or dropped, Barry's June 2004 third-degree assault charge for allegedly beating a motorist during a traffic stop. Barry was granted a court program that wiped his record clean. As part of that program, he had agreed to undergo anger management classes.

About the charges involving her, Barry's girlfriend, 31, said the situation was blown out of proportion. She said she was not harmed and was not afraid of Barry.

Mayor Mark Boughton said Barry "pensioned out with a disability" from the police force April 6. He had worked for the police department for about 10 years and had a work-related disability.

Appeared Here.

Veteran Enfield Connecticut Correctional Officer Kenneth Paul Turnbull Arrested, Charged After Beating Girlfriend

2006-07-26

ENFIELD, CONNECTICUT - A correction officer who works at the Enfield Correctional Institution was arrested early Tuesday on assault charges stemming from an incident at his girlfriend's home.

The man, Kenneth Paul Turnbull, 41, of 84 West St., was charged with second-degree breach of peace, third-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree burglary, unlawful restraint, and risk of injury to a minor.

Bail Commissioner Paul Maselek said Turnbull had no criminal record prior to Tuesday's arrest.
 

"His story is quite different from what is in the police report," McMillan said.
After the arraignment, McMillan said she could not elaborate on what facts Turnbull disputes.
Stacy Smith, spokeswoman for the Department of Correction, said today Turnbull began working as a correction officer in 1992.
She said that correction officers are required to report any arrests within 48 hours to the department. She said she is waiting to hear from the human resource department on whether Turnbull has reported the arrest.
 

Police said that Turnbull and his girlfriend had been at his home at about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday when they had an argument.
Turnbull's girlfriend told police she left his apartment in his car, which she said she often borrows, and went to her home, said Chief Carl J. Sferrazza.
At about 1 a.m. Turnbull arrived at his girlfriend's home and began kicking the door, Sferrazza said.
Because she was afraid he was going to kick the door "off the frame," Turnbull's girlfriend let him in, Sferrazza said.
Turnbull's girlfriend told police that when he entered the home, he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into a kitchen cabinet, Sferrazza said.
Turnbull's girlfriend said she wanted to scream for help, but couldn't, Sferrazza said.
The woman's 13-year-old son tried to pull Turnbull off his mother, but Turnbull pushed him to the ground, Sferrazza said.
The child was not hurt when he fell, Sferrazza said.
 

Turnbull's girlfriend called the police, and he left the home, Sferrazza said.
 

Police found a shoe print on the door of the home and splintered wood on the doorframe, Sferrazza said.
Police went to Turnbull's home and arrested him there, Sferrazza said.
 

Appeared Here

Hartford Connecticut Police Officer Charged With Killing Unarmed Teen Pleads Not Guilty

2006-07-26 HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT -- There was a heavy police presence as a Hartford police officer made his way into court.

Lawlor pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge in connection with last year’s shooting of Jayshon Bryant.

State prosecutors said 18-year-old Bryant was unarmed when Lawlor shot and killed him during a traffic stop in May 2005.

Appeared Here.

Hartford Connecticut Police Officer Robert Lawlor, Charged In Shooting Death Of Unarmed Teen, Returns To Court

2006-07-25 HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - A Hartford police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed teen-ager went back before a judge today. Officer Robert Lawlor claims when he fired his weapon he thought it was in self-defense. A few weeks ago he was confronted by the victims family outside of the courthouse.
 

The entrance to Hartford Superior Court was lined with blue. State and local police in uniform were there to guard Officer Lawlor from friends and family of the man he's accused of killing while on duty, 18-year-old Jashon Bryant.

Lawlor's attorney requested a strong police presence after Bryant's friends and family taunted the Hartford officer nearly three weeks ago as he walked in and out of superior court for his initial arraignment. Lawlor faces manslaughter charges after shooting Bryant in may of last year.

Lawlor claims Bryant reached for a gun. A grand jury ruled there was no gun in the car.

Jashon's dad Keith Thomas kept his distance as Lawlor entered the courthouse.

"As you can see, I don't have no weapon on me. All I have is my mouth," Thomas said. "He has a lawyer. And his mouth. We're not coming to threaten nobody. The threatwas already done when my son got killed. Where was the protection for my son when my son got killed."

"We're distraught. We feel nothing," says Cynthia Bryant, Jashon's mother. "I don't even have a heart no more. There's nothing I can even say."

Lawlor was back in court for a procedural matter. His case was transferred from the lower level to the upper level judicial district, and he was formally charged with manslaughter in this court because it handles more serious crimes.

Appeared Here.

Meriden Connecticut Police Officer Brian Lawlor Arrested, Charged With Beating And Then Tampering With Evidence While Covering His Tracks

2006-07-22 MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT - A former Meriden police officer has been arrested on a charge of allegedly beating up a suspect while on duty, then tampering with evidence to cover it up.

Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano said Brian Lawlor, 32, was arrested on charges stemming from an incident on Sept.16 of last year.

Morano said Lawlor is accused of beating 35-year-old Alexis Hernandez, then fabricating evidence in reports he filed.

In December of last year, Lawlor was fired for using excessive force.

Lawlor had been suspended for eight weeks during an internal investigation that included reviewing a videotape recorded by his police cruiser's camera.

Lawlor turned himself in this morning and was released on a promise to appear in Meriden Superior Court on July 20.

Appeared Here.

Veteran Connecticut State Trooper Paul Galietti Indicted In Federal Racketeering Conspiracy

2006-07-22 SOUTHBURY, CONNECTICUT - Paul Galietti describes himself as a hardworking Connecticut State Police trooper and Desert Storm veteran who loves his two dogs, football, and riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

So it was an enormous blow to him when the federal government called him a criminal.

Galietti, in law enforcement for 16 years, is among 29 people indicted for allegedly participating in a racketeering conspiracy that involved trash hauling companies and organized crime.

"I believe everything happens for a reason," said the fit 38-year-old Galietti, standing at just under 6 feet with jet black hair and a beard. "All I want is for the unequivocal, complete truth to come out."

Beyond that, Galietti said he is not allowed to comment directly on the case. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in U.S. District Court last month.

The indictment accuses Galietti of accessing state police computers to obtain motor vehicle registration information and then passing it on to participants in the garbage scheme.

Galietti's cousin is Richard Galietti, a former sales manager for garbage hauling companies owned by local trash magnate James Galante, the key target of the investigation, who was indicted on 72 charges.

The trooper is also indirectly named in an attempted bribery charge against Galante and his cohorts.

"He has an excellent record as a state trooper. He was never disciplined," said Paul Galietti's attorney, Gary Mastronardi of Bridgeport. "We deny all these allegations. To say he was uncovering vehicle registration to assist in identifying confidential informants is all nonsense."

Informants and a mole made the arrests possible, according to federal prosecutors. The federal government alleges that Galante's companies and other trash haulers participated in a non-competitive scheme to artificially raise prices. The conspiracy allegedly included threats of violence, fraud and extortion.

Galietti grew up as an only child in Queens, N.Y., but lived close to his cousin Richard, five years younger. The two have been very close their whole lives.

Richard Galietti was indicted on multiple counts, including extortion and wire fraud. He quit working for Galante in August 2005, shortly after the investigation became public.

"I think he realized the mess he was in and moved on to another job," Paul Galietti said of his cousin.

Paul Galietti served in the U.S. Marines for 6½ years. He started with the Connecticut State Police on June 1, 1990, but left police academy early when he was called back to duty to serve in Desert Storm in 1991, where he was in combat.

Five medals, six badges and two ribbons are framed in an upstairs room of his home. In his file cabinet, he keeps a March 20, 1991, letter of commendation from his commanding officer, J.C. Hearing, that praised him for his "untiring dedication to duty and motivation that was easily noticed by all."

Galietti's love for history prompted him to join the Marines, and his experience in the military gave him the desire to be a state police officer. He was first stationed in Westport and later in Bridgeport, where he last worked. For most of that time, he lived in Easton.

"In all aspects of my work, I have used discretion and objectivity to always do the right thing," said Galietti, who earns a salary of $73,439. "I would not aggressively go after people."

As an example, he recalls a time he stopped a man driving with his family in a stolen car. By law, he had to arrest the driver, but he believed the driver's story that the car was leased.

After investigating the matter, Galietti found the driver was telling the truth. That led to the arrest of a car thief and the clearing of the driver.

In July 2004, he went through a divorce and eventually moved to his current home in Southbury, a white two-story home with a spacious front porch and long driveway.

He lives there with his two big friendly dogs - Dixie, a brown bull mastiff and Cleopatra, a black Rottweiler. He says they are his family.

"He's a nice guy. He couldn't be a better neighbor," said William Gerner, an attorney who lives next door. "He has two big dogs, but they act like lap dogs. My kids ride their bikes in his driveway."

Gerner knew about the indictments in the garbage industry, but he didn't realize his neighbor was part of them.

"He doesn't seem like that kind of guy," Gerner said. "I'm really surprised."

Richard Galietti prodded his cousin to come to a game of the Danbury Trashers, the Galante-owned hockey team, in December 2004.

"My cousin was trying to get me out of the house," Paul Galietti said. "I didn't even know the name of the company he was working for. He's the only one I knew in the entire company. I met the owner of the company, but that's because we were formally introduced."

The conversation with Galante, about six months before the federal investigation became public, involved nothing more than an introduction and pleasantries, he said, and he had not talked to the garbage kingpin since then.

For that matter, hockey is not Paul Galietti's favorite sport. Professional football is. In fact, he says, going to NFL games is his biggest passion behind riding his Harley.

It was a December 2004 football game that created waves, and he's not sure why.

Enter the upstairs room Paul Galietti uses for office space, with a sofa, a filing cabinet and a flat-screen computer sitting on a desk. The first thing one notices is Pittsburgh Steelers flags, posters and pictures hanging on the wall.

On the metal filing cabinet are refrigerator magnets of numerous NFL teams. Galietti has a box full of NFL ticket stubs he has kept as souvenirs.

Richard Galietti is charged with attempted bribery, as the indictment says he "conferred and agreed to confer upon a public servant, Law Enforcement Officer B, benefits, that is tickets to an NFL football game on Dec. 18, 2004, as consideration for Law Enforcement Officer B's decision as a public servant to selectively enforce motor vehicle laws."

"For him to give an NFL ticket to me is no big deal," Paul Galietti said. "My cousin just got it from the company."

Press reports first surfaced in December 2004 indicating that both Galietti and State Trooper Wayne Rogalski had been suspended from their police duties for providing state police motor vehicle records to Galante's companies. The initial reports also said one of the officers accepted NFL football tickets.

Galietti and Rogalski are friends and both were initially assigned to administrative duties, pending an internal investigation.

Rogalski has returned to full duty. Galietti, however, was put on leave after he was indicted June 9 and is still awaiting the results of his internal investigation.

"I hope it's a completely fair hearing, and I hope it's not based on politics," Galietti said.

Discipline can be a reprimand, a demotion, a suspension or a firing, said Ron Savitski, the State Police human resources director. He did not know when the investigation would be completed.

Galietti believes his is a case of guilt by association.

"How the hell am I supposed to know about that?," he said of the garbage conspiracy.

Galietti said his supervisors have been very supportive of him, "which should say something about the content of my character."

Indiana Police Officer Clifton Bruce Davidson Jr., Also A Disbarred Attorney, Pleads Guilty To 24 Bank Robberies In 11 States

2006-07-22 ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS -A former Indiana police officer pleaded guilty Friday to 24 bank robberies in Connecticut and 10 other states that netted more than $167,000. Three in Illinois were worth nearly $28,500.

Clifton Bruce Davidson Jr., 41, of Holland, Mich., had been on the FBI's list of most wanted fugitives for seven months before he was taken into custody Jan. 31 in Phoenix and turned over to federal authorities.

He pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of aggravated bank robbery, 21 counts of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.

In federal court, Davidson admitted to four robberies in Michigan; three each in Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri; two each in Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland and Wisconsin; and one each in Indiana, Iowa and Connecticut between Nov. 12, 2003 and last Nov. 18, prosecutors said.

A message left Friday night for a public defender representing Davidson was not immediately returned.

Davidson is being held by the U.S. Marshals Service until sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 17, said U.S. attorney's office spokeswoman Sharon Paul.

Aggravated bank robbery carries up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, bank robbery carries up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine and brandishing a firearm carries a penalty of seven years to life in prison, which must be served consecutive to any other sentence.

Davidson was fired from the Elkhart, Ind. police force in 1995 for making public statements about an investigation into a police shooting. He later won a defamation suit against the city and then-Mayor James Perron over a 1994 letter to the editor in a local newspaper that alleged Davidson abused unnamed police privileges and was soft on crime.

Davidson became a lawyer, but was disbarred after the Indiana Supreme Court found him guilty of six counts of misconduct in 2004 for taking clients' money for lawsuits that never were filed or on which he did little work.

Appeared Here.

Stratford Connecticut Officials Review Police Brutality Report After Using Excessive Force Against Councilman Alvin O'Neal And A Child

2006-07-19 STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT — An internal probe into complaints that a veteran police officer used excessive force arresting Councilman Alvin O'Neal and a 15-year-old girl is finished, but officials are reviewing the report before making it public next week.

"Much of the information still has to be thoroughly reviewed and a recommendation made to me by police on the officer," Mayor James Miron said. "This may be taking longer than people want it to, but it is a matter of such significance that we have to take our time and make the right decision." Miron said he would not necessarily go along with the Police Department's recommendation on discipline, if any, regarding the allegations against Officer David Gugliotti, which will be released with the report next Friday.

"I have to weigh all the evidence, the internal affairs report and what all the witnesses had to say and consider the department's recommendation, too," Miron said.

During a March 21 melee outside a South End restaurant, O'Neal contends Gugliotti punched him in the chest when he tried to stop the officer from hitting and "slamming" 15-year-old Titasheen Mitchell against a car after the teen allegedly resisted arrest. The incident occurred outside the Caribbean Delights restaurant at Main Street and Woodend Road, which is owned by Mitchell's mother.

Witnesses say Gugliotti punched the girl, who was resisting arrest after a fight between two other girls, and then she allegedly struck the officer. O'Neal said he was arrested and punched when he intervened and asked Gugliotti to stop hitting Mitchell.

Gugliotti, a 12-year police veteran, was placed on paid administrative leave, though the police union wants him back on the job.

Mitchell recently appeared in Juvenile Court in Bridgeport, where she was advised she could be facing between 10 and 15 years in prison, according to her mother, Marcia Mitchell-Davis.

Mitchell's attorney, Gary Mastronardi, said Friday that both he and the state's attorney's office are awaiting the results of Stratford's internal affairs probe before talking further about her case.

"I think talk of any prison time for my client is very premature at this time," Mastronardi said. "She is the victim in this case, not someone who should be charged with a crime."

The girl's mother said she still fears the worst.

"My daughter is a child and I don't can't even comprehend why she is being prosecuted at all," Mitchell-Davis said. "Why is the Police Department doing this to her after what they have already done?

"Even the parties who were fighting told police she was not involved in the fight, but that all fell on deaf ears," she said.

Mastronardi said "nothing is being ruled out" concerning a possible lawsuit against the Police Department and town.

O'Neal's attorney, Charles Kurmay, said he found it "curious" that the town didn't notify him of the mayor's meeting with police officials, or of the report's impending release.

"We hope the investigation is fair, and look forward to the outcome," Kurmay said. "I assume the result is going to be significant, one way or the other."

 

Milford Connecticut Police Officer Brien McMahon Accused Of Beating Arabic Man In Handcuffs While Other Officers Stood By Laughing

2006-07-19 MILFORD, CONNECTICUT — A city man of Arabic descent was beaten by a police officer while other officers stood by and laughed as the suspect writhed in pain on the ground from a broken knee cap, according to a complaint filed with the Police Department this week.

The complaint identifies Officer Brien McMahon as the officer who beat Salmon Jaser, 30, during a June 21 traffic stop on Bridgeport Avenue. McMahon allegedly beat Jaser while he was in handcuffs and other officers at the scene laughed as Jaser was "shrieking in pain" from his injuries, the document states.

"This was prejudice and profiling," said Sultaneh Jaser, the man's mother, who filed the complaint Tuesday. "They didn't have to beat him. There was no need for this to happen. It still makes me upset when I talk about it."

Jaser said her son suffered a broken knee that required more than five hours of emergency surgery at Milford Hospital where two screws were permanently placed in his leg. Her son's face was also badly beaten during the ordeal and his wrists were severely bruised by the handcuffs, she said, adding that several people witnessed the incident.

Police at the time reported that Jaser was pulled over for a traffic violation when he got out of his car and "shoved" an officer. Jaser was charged with assault on an officer, interfering with police, reckless driving and possession of narcotics for cocaine residue that was found in his vehicle, police said.

Attorney John Williams, a New Haven lawyer, met with the Jaser family on Friday to discuss possible legal action.

"I was horrified by what I learned at this meeting," Williams said. "I was so horrified that I will be filing a lawsuit on his behalf Monday morning."

Williams added that the incident wasn't the first time that McMahon harassed Jaser.

"The fact is that McMahon has been harassing my client for a long time," he said. "The reason is personal. This isn't the first time that he's been subjected to outrageous harassment, but this is the first time he was brutalized in this manner."

Williams said the lawsuit, which he expects to file in New Haven federal court, would name both McMahon and Officer Dennis Broderick as defendants.

Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. said the Police Department has already initiated an internal investigation into the matter.

"I'm certain the department will do a thorough and fair investigation," he said.

Officer Vaughan Dumas, a spokesman for the department, confirmed that the complaint was received this week. He declined to comment further on the matter.
 

Stratford Police Union Tries To Oust Councilman Alvin O'Neal - Who Attempted To Stop Police Cpl. David Gugliotti From Beating A Child

2006-07-13 STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT - The Stratford police union this week leveled misconduct charges against Councilman Alvin O'Neal (D-2), who earlier this year accused a police officer of misconduct and brutality. The union also asked the Town Council to remove O'Neal from office.

The inflammatory charges, just days before a scheduled protest rally against alleged unfair treatment of minorities by police, may further strain relations between the town's police officers and African-American residents in the South End.

One of the officers who presented the union's complaint against O'Neal Monday evening, Ulysses Munoz, is a member of a new police unit in the South End that was formed with the hope that it would restore residents' confidence in the police.

The union representatives also said O'Neal was involved in a road rage incident on May 1 in which he allegedly intimidated and verbally abused an elderly resident, John Tabak, 84, of Flora Drive. Tabak reported it to police last week.

O'Neal said the new charge is a slanderous fabrication. "They are doing everything in their power to discredit me," he said.

Town Council Chairman James Feehan (R-9) refused to allow any discussion of the matter, referring it to Town Attorney Richard Buturla because of a question over whether the council has the authority to take any action against O'Neal.

The police union cited several sections of the Town Charter prohibiting council members from interfering with administrative officials in their official duties, and authorizing the council to remove a member from office for a violation.

However, those sections do not appear in the new charter voters adopted in the 2003 election, which rewrote the sections related to the Town Council to accommodate the powers of the newly created office of mayor.

Feehan also cautioned the other council members not to make any statements on the matter, to avoid the appearance of bias in case the complaint does come before them for a decision.

O'Neal accused
O'Neal was arrested on charges of interfering with a police officer and breach of peace on March 21 in a tense, racially charged incident at the corner of Woodend Road and Main Street, when he intervened while Police Cpl. David Gugliotti was attempting to arrest a teenage girl. Gugliotti is white, O'Neal and the girl are black.

O'Neal made a citizen complaint against Gugliotti, claiming the officer punched him and the girl and cursed at him. However, a police department internal affairs investigation ruled that conflicting eyewitness accounts of the incident provided insufficient evidence to support O'Neal's complaint.

Munoz and Police Officer Carlos Castro, both members of the police union's executive board, charged that O'Neal "grossly and repeatedly violated the town charter" by interfering with Gugliotti's arrest.

Regarding the road rage allegation, Munoz, Castro and Police Officer Shawn Farmer, the union president, said they did not know why Tabak waited more than two months to report O'Neal's alleged outburst.

Tabak told police he stopped on Church Street, a narrow, one-way lane in Stratford Center, waiting for another motorist to back into a parking space. He said a driver in a vehicle behind him began blaring his horn impatiently, angrily insisting he move.

Tabak said when he proceeded to the stop light at Main Street, the driver, whom he identified as O'Neal, got out, approached his vehicle in a manner Tabak described as menacing, and shouted repeatedly, "Do you know who I am?" at the elderly man. Tabak reported he was frightened and locked his car doors.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Tabak said he didn't decide to report the incident until he read news reports about O'Neal's plans for the rally at Town Hall.

Tabak told the Star he is angry with the police union for using his report for political purposes. He said he only intended to give police information to use in O'Neal's trial on the interfering charge, and now that he was used as a pawn he would never file a report again.

In response to O'Neal's counter-accusation that Tabak's charge is false, Farmer replied, "Based on his previous statements and actions, this is just what we'd expect from him."

The three police officers scoffed that they had better things to do than invent false charges against O'Neal.

Officer reprimanded
However, the officers now have to field problems of their own. Earlier on Monday, Police Chief Michael Imbro reprimanded an unidentified officer on the order of visibly angry Mayor James R. Miron for harassing Marcia Mitchell-Davis, the mother of the girl O'Neal defended on March 21.

According to O'Neal - and confirmed by Miron - the police officer appeared Monday morning at Mitchell-Davis' Caribbean Delights restaurant at Woodend and Main and ordered her to remove sandwich signs from the sidewalk.

Miron said the signs violate the town's zoning regulations, but police officers normally do not enforce zoning rules.

"How does it look?" Miron asked.

It is the second time police were accused of harassing Mitchell-Davis. Shortly after the March 21 incident, while Gugliotti was on administrative leave pending the internal affairs investigation, Mitchell-Davis said she saw Gugliotti and another officer, Sean Martinez, drive past her restaurant with a video camera.

That allegation was dismissed, along with the other charges against Gugliotti. Imbro said Martinez was on patrol in another part of town when the alleged video drive-by took place.

Mitchell-Davis' daughter, now 15, faces charges in juvenile court of assaulting a police officer, assault in the third degree and breach of peace.

O'Neal was scheduled for a pre-trial court appearance in Bridgeport Monday, but his case was continued until next week.

Rally on Saturday

O'Neal appeared with Miron and an NAACP representative, Wayne Winston, last Thursday to announce that the rally will take place Saturday, July 15, to give town officials time to prepare for traffic and crowd control.

The rally, which will feature state NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile as a speaker, previously was scheduled for last Saturday.

O'Neal said the rally will focus on resolving the racial conflict, not on the alleged police brutality - Miron, in fact, announced he also will be a speaker - but that was before the police union raised the new controversy.

Miron has been supportive of the police and said in an interview last week that the officers feel they have been unfairly attacked in news media reports and under-appreciated.

But the mayor, normally even-tempered and cheerful, was visibly angry with the union officials Monday.

"It's offensive to me that the Stratford police union would take this action," he said before cutting reporters' questions short and storming away.

Miron noted that O'Neal has not been charged with a crime related to Tabak's allegation, and he should be presumed innocent if he were.

New charges by the Stratford police union against District 2 Councilman Alvin O'Neal and a demand that he be removed from office were referred to the town attorney this week along with the question of where some key sections of the Town Charter went.

The police union cited Sections 2.2.14, 2.2.15 and 2.1.4 in its complaint against O'Neal, which prohibit councilmen from interfering with town officials, including police officers, in their official duties, and authorizing the council to remove a violator from office.

Councilmen have no authority to order an administrative official to do something, but they might threaten a budget cut that eliminates the official's job, which is why the provision was there.

When the councilmen looked up the specific sections in their official Town Charter booklets, they weren't there.

That is only one of the questions that have landed in the lap of Town Attorney Richard Buturla, a former council chairman.

Buturla said beside the mystery of the missing charter sections, he must determine what powers the Town Council actually has.

The best explanation at this point is that the sections were inadvertently omitted when Section 2, defining the powers of the Town Council, were rewritten in the last charter revision, adopted by the voters in a referendum in the 2003 election.

Council Chairman James Feehan (R-9) said he would soon propose an ordinance to create a new Charter Revision Commission to address numerous technicalities and conflicts between the new powers of the mayor and the council.

A new Charter Revision Commission could reinstate the missing sections. It could also rewrite town history from 2005, when the campaign for the town's first mayor took place, although Feehan said that isn't his intention.

Buturla said the more pertinent question he must answer includes whether the new charter includes any prohibition against a councilman using his office to influence the conduct of a member of the administration in his duties.

He said the town's Ethics Code is too narrow in scope to apply in such a case.

Beyond the question of what the charter says, Buturla said he must determine if any state statutes apply and override the Town Charter.

Lastly, he said he must see if there is any legal case law that affects the situation.

O'Neal was arrested on March 21 for interfering with a police officer, Cpl. David Gugliotti, while he was arresting a teenage girl.

Following his arrest, O'Neal filed a citizen complaint alleging that Gugliotti had punched him and swore at him, and used unnecessary force while arresting the girl.

When a Police Department Internal Affairs investigation ruled there was insufficient evidence to support the complaint, police union leaders called for O'Neal's removal from the council, and on Monday they made formal charges against him.
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Stratford Connecticut Councilman Alvin O'Neal In Trouble After Trying To Stop White Police Officer David Gugliotti From Beating Black Child, Police Officer Evan Sarris Removes Signs Demanding Justice

2006-07-13 STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT - The controversy in Stratford surrounding the incident involving Councilman Alvin O'Neal, D-2, Police Officer David Gugliotti, a town restaurant owner and her daughter has taken an unfortunate - and a sobering - turn for the worse.

The debate stems from a confrontation between police and O'Neal in March. O'Neal, who is black, claims that he tried to stop Gugliotti, who is white, from hitting 15-year-old Titasheen Mitchell, who is also black, during a police matter outside the South End restaurant owned by the young woman's mother.

O'Neal was arrested on the spot for interfering with the officer but is contesting the charges in court.

The matter has touched on the sensitive issues of race and police brutality, and it's sadly turned Stratford into a hornet's nest of resentment and accusations.

Now, Marcia Mitchell-Davis - the mother of Titasheen Mitchell - has accused Stratford police officers of harassing and intimidating her at her restaurant.

Mitchell-Davis had three signs in front of her business, including one that demanded "justice" in the O'Neal controversy, forcibly removed by Officer Evan Sarris on Monday.

Sarris told Mitchell-Davis the signs violated town zoning ordinances and told her to take them down "or else." When she refused, the officer threw them to the ground.

Of course, the signs had little to do with law enforcement. In Stratford, complaints concerning signs in front of businesses are always handled by a zoning enforcement officer, and in this case Planning and Zoning Administrator Gary Lorentson told the Connecticut Post there had been no complaints against the restaurant.

All this has occurred while a rally to protest local racism and police actions looms on Saturday.

It's difficult to determine whether the officer's actions were based on intimidating Mitchell-Davis, but knocking the signs down certainly was an outrageous and unnecessary action.

Mitchell-Davis has every right to speak out against what she considers an oppressive police department, and if police officers think otherwise they had best brush up on the U.S. Constitution.

Plaudits to Stratford Mayor James H. Miron and top Stratford police administrators for publicly chiding the officer for his actions. By knocking down the signs, he made a bad and simmering situation much worse.

It will take levelheaded, straightforward and strong leadership by Stratford government and police officials in the days ahead to calm the emotions surrounding this issue and to assure that all Stratford citizens get fair treatment and a chance to be heard.
 

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Connecticut State Appellate Court Rejects Evidence Police Obtained During Illegal Stop And Search, Which Resulted In Man's Unlawfull Conviction For Evidence Found

DANBURY, CONNECTICUT – Edward Dalzell's flawless driving one February day in 2004 may be his ticket to freedom.

The state Appellate Court, in a unanimous ruling released Wednesday, said the Danbury police officer who pulled Dalzell over for failure to wear a seatbelt did not have sufficient evidence to suspect him of driving under the influence of drugs. That suspicion led to Dalzell's arrest after Officer Adam Marcus found four glassines of heroin inside a cigarette pack during a subsequent search of Dalzell's car.

Dalzell is serving a five-year sentence on charges including possession of heroin and driving under the influence of drugs.

Prior to trial, Dalzell had filed a motion to suppress the evidence gathered against him, saying there was nothing to justify Marcus' suspicion that he was not wearing a seatbelt or his belief that Dalzell was under the influence of drugs. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, and Dalzell was convicted.

During a suppression hearing, Marcus testified that he saw Dalzell driving his 1991 Ford Escort on Feb. 27, 2004 and noticed he wasn't wearing a shoulder-style seatbelt. Marcus said he followed Dalzell for about a mile, and that he must have obeyed all speed limits and other traffic rules. Otherwise, the officer said, he would have stopped him.

Upon stopping Dalzell, Marcus testified, he noticed that Dalzell's pupils were contracted, his nose was red and running and there was a rolled up dollar bill in the car's center console. He said Dalzell also was slow in locating his registration and insurance.

The Appellate Court said that wasn't enough to warrant Dalzell's arrest for operating under the influence and subsequent seizure of contraband from his car.

"We cannot separate the four facts observed by Marcus, all of which are indistinguishable from otherwise innocent conduct, from the fact that he followed [Dalzell] over a considerable distance along a winding path of intersecting roads beset with stops and traffic signals without observing any traffic violation," Judge Antoinette Dupont wrote. "Under the totality of the circumstances, the officer's conclusion there was probable cause for the arrest of [Dalzell] for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs must fail."

The Appellate Court said Marcus had sufficient reason to stop Dalzell for failure to wear a seat belt, and that the stop was not "pretextual", or a ruse by Marcus to look for evidence of criminal activity. But, the court ruled, the subsequent search and seizure violated Dalzell's rights under the Connecticut constitution.

Senior Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Inkster, who argued Dalzell's case on appeal, said she is waiting to see whether the state asks the Supreme Court to review the case.

"The message is, you just can't go trolling for evidence," Inkster said. "Fishing isn't allowed.

"I'm thrilled for the client and I'm thrilled the court ruled this way, but I was not surprised," Inkster said. "When you look at what the officer had, it just wasn't enough to arrest Dalzell for operating under the influence. They made it very clear in this case that the Connecticut constitution is not going to tolerate these leaps of faith that have no foundation in fact."

The Appellate Court reversed Dalzell's convictions on all counts except the seatbelt infraction, and sent the case back to the trial court level with orders to suppress the evidence seized by Marcus. The state has 20 days to file an appeal.

Inkster said Dalzell, 46, has been incarcerated since his sentencing in January 2005, and will probably remain behind bars at least until the next step in the case is clear.

Senior Assistant State's Attorney Robert Scheinblum could not be reached for comment.

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White supremacists may attend Stratford Connecticut rally

STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT — Officials are bracing for a possible counter-demonstration by white supremacists to Saturday's anti-racism rally in front of Town Hall after leaflets from three hate groups showed up on residents' lawns Tuesday.

The white supremacist groups also vowed to distribute leaflets in surrounding towns to let residents know they plan to make their presence felt at the rally organized by Councilman Alvin O'Neal, D-2, to protest treatment of the South End minority community by Stratford police.

Groups calling themselves Connecticut State Skinheads, Connecticut White Wolves and North East White Pride sent e-mails to the Connecticut Post stating their reasons for attending the rally. Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut branches of the NAACP, will speak at the rally, as well as Stratford Mayor James R. Miron.

The groups listed a Web page in the e-mails for the North East White Pride — www.newp.org.

On the Web page, there are revolving images of Adolf Hitler and a Nazi swastika.

Top-ranking officials for both the FBI and Stratford police said Tuesday they were aware of the leaflets, which were left on a number of Stratford lawns Tuesday morning, as well as the e-mails, and are taking the warnings seriously.

Kimberly K. Mertz, special agent in charge of the FBI's Connecticut office, said in a prepared statement: "The FBI is aware of the e-mails and other communications and will be alert to any possible violations of federal law."
 

Former Ansonia Connecticut Police Officer Thomas Swan, Who Quit Instead Of Facing Disciplinary Proceedings For Excessive Force, False Arrest, etc., Plans Federal Suit Against Police Chief

ANSONIA, CONNECTICUT — In a federal lawsuit planned against the city, a former police officer who resigned just prior to a disciplinary hearing on excessive force and other allegations is accusing Chief Kevin Hale of retaliation.

Thomas Swan, a five-year officer who left the department in January in the face of numerous internal affairs investigations, filed a notice of intent to sue the city Friday.

In the document filed by Swan's attorney, Fern Paes, Hale is accused of singling out Swan due to various complaints Swan had lodged against the department. On Jan. 18, Hale told Swan that in two weeks he would face a hearing before the Board of Police Commissioners, which could fire him. Shortly before the hearing, Swan, who was hired in April 2001, resigned. Paes said Monday that the two-week notice had not given Swan or the union enough time to prepare his defense, so he resigned.

"He felt that this was unjustified and violated his due process rights and he would not have gotten an opportunity to defend himself," Paes said. Swan had been on paid administrative leave since July 29, 2005, while the internal affairs investigations of his conduct were pending. Among the various allegations lodged against Swan were that he used excessive force during an arrest, made a false arrest and filled out reports late, Hale confirmed Monday.

The police chief declined further comment on the case, due to the pending litigation. In her notice to sue, Paes stated that Hale's investigations were incomplete because they ignored "Swan's statements that others had done the same or worse things and had not been subjected to internal investigations."

Swan alleges that Hale was retaliating against him because he had filed various complaints within the department and state agencies. Swan's complaint of improperly cleaned blood stains in the back of a police cruiser resulted in an Occupational Safety and Health Administration fine of $300 and a change in department procedure. Swan also filed one internal complaint that other officers had sexually harassed him and another that alleged that former Lt. Floyd Morey made a racial remark about an Indian woman.

Swan also has a pending case before the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. In May 2004, Swan, who is white, was temporarily suspended for violating department harassment policy by using racial slang in the presence of a black officer.

Meriden Connecticut Police Officer Brian Lawlor Charged With Beating Man, And Tampering With Evidence During Cover Up

MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT – A former Meriden police officer has been arrested on a charge of beating up a suspect while on duty, then tampering with evidence to cover it up.

Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano says 32-year-old Brian Lawlor was arrested on charges stemming from an incident on September 16, 2005.

Morano says Lawlor is accused of beating 35-year-old Alexis Hernandez, then fabricating evidence in reports he filed.

In December of last year, Lawlor was fired for using "excessive force."

Lawlor had been suspended for eight weeks during an internal investigation that included reviewing a videotape recorded by his police cruiser's camera.

Lawlor turned himself in this morning and was released on a promise to appear in Meriden Superior Court on July 20.

Former Bridgeport Connecticut Police Officer John Biehn, Who Went On Drunken Shooting Rampage In Public Housing Project, Gets A Slap On The Wrist From Bridgeport Superior Court Judge George Thim

BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT -A former Bridgeport police officer accused of going on a drunken shooting rampage at a public housing complex in 2004 will not serve jail time.

Witnesses and prosecutors said Biehn went to the Marina Village complex with a loaded gun on Aug. 23, 2004, and shot randomly at residents because he was angry over a dispute with his wife's ex-husband. No one was injured.

The jury acquitted him of several counts of attempted murder, attempted assault and other reckless endangerment charges.

"This morning, you are getting credit for that service," Thim told Biehn during Friday's sentencing, which occurred in a packed courtroom and was witnessed by some of the people who testified that he shot at them.

"I look at you and you look like you don't care, but I would like to think you do care," she said, wiping away tears. "Nobody really understands that you were just shooting and people were running down the street and you were just shooting after us."

"What we saw in this case was a potential for extreme violence against people in which there was no logical reason to use violence against," he said. "The danger is obvious here. But for the grace of God, we could have had a mass murder in Marina Village that night."

"I apologize to the city of Bridgeport and all its residents who placed their trust in me as a police officer," Biehn said. "I know it was very irresponsible for me to consume alcohol and maintain possession of a firearm."

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Family Of Victim Taunt Scumbag Veteran Hartford Connecticut Police Officer Robert Lawlor Who Murdered Unarmed Teen

2006-07-06

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - A tense confrontation unfolded outside Superior Court in Hartford Wednesday as Hartford police Officer Robert Lawlor, facing criminal charges in the fatal shooting of a teenager, found himself staring into the face of the boy's fathe

 "Why are you smiling? You have something you want to say to me?" Keith Thomas said.

The scene underscored the tension between the police department and some of the city's neighborhoods. Lawlor is white; 18-year-old Jashon Bryant was black. Bryant's family members have said race was a factor in the shooting - an allegation that Lawlor has denied vehemently.

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Family Of Teen Killed By Police Officer Confronts Hartford Connecticut Police Officer Robert Lawlor Charged With Manslaughter

"We have to stay strong for them," says Yvette Thomas, Jashon's aunt, "because I don't think any of them have really dealt with Jashon's passing. I don't think any of us have come to terms with it."

Bryant's family members came to court wearing t-shirts with Jashon's name and face in the front, and the charges Officer Lawlor faces printed on the back.

Bryant's mother Cynthia said she wasn't sure how the family was going to react to the officer's presence, But she says she's in a lot of pain.

"It's hurtful. It's very hurtful," she said.

"Why?"

"Because he killed my son. I mean, my stomach is so hurt right now my everything. I don't even really know how to act."

With Lawlor safely inside the courthouse, police called in reinforcements to guard the defendant from angry family members. Once formal proceedings ended Hartford police escorted their fellow officer on what must have felt like the longest walk of Lawlor's life.

"I'm absolutely going to make certain there's adequate security the next time," said Michael Georgetti, Lawlor's attorney, "and my client was in danger, I was in danger, his family was in danger and all we were trying to do was get into a courthouse to see a judge."

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Man Haunted by Arrest for Crime He Didn't Commit That Happened 1200 Miles Away While He Was At Work As Security Guard In Florida, Sat In Polk County Florida Jail for 4 Months For Nothing - Almost 4 Years of Suffering Because Of Connecticut's Bad Cops and Prosecutors

Former Connecticut State Trooper Dennis Henderson Arrested, Charged With Threatening State Marshal Serving Legal Documents

Middletown Connecticut Police Chief Edward Brymer Could Be Fired For Misconduct

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Hartford Police Officer Robert Lawlor Arrested, Charged With First-Degree Manslaughter And Assault For Shooting and Killing 18 Year Old Boy

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Lewis The Cat Awaits His Fate - Authorities Want To Kill Woman's Cat

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Vernon Connecticut Police Officer John A. Troland Facing Prison After Admitting He Shared Information About Drug Investigation - Which Lead To Assault On Informant

Teens Arrested After Throwing Dounuts At Connecticut State Trooper Patrick Mulcahy

City Of Greenwich Connecticut To Pay May $910,000 After Police Officer Andrew Kelly's Reckless Driving In Patrol Car Caused Accident

Greenwich Connecticut Ordered To Pay $910,000 After Police Officer Andrew Kelly Crashes Into Man's Car With Police Car

Charges Dropped Against Man Who Peppered Judges With Postcards

East Windsor Connecticut Police officer Rafael Crespo Jr. fired after criminal conviction for rape

Seymour Connecticut Police Officer John Harkins Faces Disciplinary Hearing For Shoplifting While In Uniform

New Haven Connecticut Mayor John DeStefano Jr. Testifies In Hearing On $5.1 Million Civil Rights Verdict Against Former New Haven Police Chief Melvin Wearing

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Second Roman Catholic priest, Michael Madden, resigns amid investigation

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East Windsor Connecticut Police officer Rafael Crespo Jr. convicted of first and third degree sexual assaults, bound over for sentencing