Hartford

Hartford Community Sounds Off on Behavior of Police Department

An emotional crowd at Hartford City Hall sounded off about their experiences with city cops Wednesday night.

Residents who attended the meeting said they're frustrated with the behavior of police officers.

Tensions reached a boiling point as police make news recently for the wrong reasons.

One sergeant was accused of doing drugs on the job and stealing from the department.

Another officer was caught on video telling a group of young people not to flee because he was “trigger happy.”

“I think Hartford is literally crying out to us for us to stand up and do something and protect them and work with police department to protect the community that we’re supposed to be protecting,” said Hartford City Councilor Claudine Fox.

Fox organized the brutally honest conversation.

Many expressed concerns including police not showing respect to the community and officers not being held accountable for potential wrong-doing.

“I want to know how I can make an impact in the city,” said Kathleen Maldonado of Hartford.

Maldonado was among those hoping to find solutions for current problems.

That could lead to new city policies.

“I hope we can continue a dialogue with the police and that they are able to maybe come to another conversation and we can come up with solutions together,” said Bulaong Ramiz of Hartford.

A police department spokesman declined comment.

City councilors are scheduled to meet with the police department next week.

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