There are new details on internal discipline a Hartford police officer is facing after he started a sexual relationship with a teenage girl he arrested in April.
Officer Joven Gonzalez was suspended without pay from the Hartford Police Department after he was charged with using his service weapon to beat a man he found the girl with while off duty in September.
The new information came from internal affairs reports obtained by NBC Connecticut Investigates, which focus on a pair of prior incidents connected to the girl.
Those incidents involve what happened at a church parking lot just across the Hartford line, in Bloomfield, in July, where Gonzalez allegedly got in a fight with a teenage girl he admits he had a sexual relationship with months earlier.
While nothing has been proven about the fight, HPD internal investigators said Gonzalez was with the girl “…for over an hour, in the town of Bloomfield, instead of assisting in calls for service.”
In addition, during this investigation, it was learned Gonzalez allowed the girl to use “…his personal vehicle to meet him, knowing she does not possess a valid (drivers) license.”
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Gonzalez told investigators he cut off the relationship shortly after learning the girl’s age, saying she told him she was older.
According to the internal affairs documents this angered the 17-year-old, who then “…attempted to run over his wife,” but Gonzalez did not report the this off duty incident to HPD immediately, something the department requires.
HPD internal investigators also learned during the course of their inquiry that Gonzalez admitted going to after-hours clubs in Hartford, even though he “…has firsthand knowledge of the criminal activity associated with these clubs…”, and he admitted to dropping off and picking up the teenage girl he had the relationship with “…at these establishments, knowing she is underage with complete disregard for her safety.”
Gonzalez has been on the force in Hartford a little more than two years.
Police sources said he may face another internal affairs investigation, connected with code of conduct violations after he was taken off patrol in August.
NBC Connecticut Investigates reached out to the HPD, Officer Gonzalez, and the police union for comment, and have not heard back.
