A Hartford police sergeant accused of using cocaine and alcohol while on the job and stealing equipment from the department appeared in court Wednesday.
Sgt. Justin Torniero, 34, was arrested Tuesday and charged with first- and second-degree larceny. He is a 10-year veteran of the force.
Court documents state that Torniero allegedly used cocaine and alcohol while on duty. He is also accused of stealing department issued equipment and giving it to a man accused of operating a drug factory.
In March, authorities raided the home of 52-year-old John Butler. During the search of the home they found several Hartford Police Department issued items, including a ballistics vest, wooden police baton, a reversible jacket, evidence bags, police tape and drug testing kits, according to court documents.
A woman who lived in the home contacted police a few days later and said she knew Torniero, and that he came to the home about once a week, sometimes in full Hartford Police Department uniform and in a marked vehicle.
Butler told police he'd known Torniero for approximately two years and that the two of them would use cocaine together on a daily basis until around December 2017, according to court documents. The documents also state that Butler told investigators he'd used cocaine in a Hartford Police Department vehicle, with Torniero, at least 20 times.
Torniero was already suspended from the police department without pay due to a previous arrest in December. He was accused of using a police vehicle without permission while he was on leave.
Local
For community leaders, this is another concerning accusation of misconduct for the department.
"There's great concern in our community about the behavior of some of these police officers now, and if you just slap them on the wrist, it dissolves the trust," said Rev. Henry Brown.
Torniero is the latest Hartford officer accused of misconduct. Earlier this year, Sgt. Stephen Barone was caught on camera saying he was "trigger happy." He has since been demoted.
In 2016, Sgt. Sean Spell was arrested after cameras caught him kicking a handcuffed suspect.
Tuesday night, Hartford City Councilor Wildaliz Bermúdez gave her reaction to the latest arrest.
"We need to clean the house here. We need to have a different approach, and it needs to be one that is really reflective of protecting and serving the community," she said.
Sgt. John Szewcyk of the Hartford Police Union responded to those comments.
"We find it very very unfortunate that Councilwoman Bermudez would use this as an opportunity to gain political gain, to create this gap between the community and the department when it doesn't exist," he said.
The Hartford Police Union said the overwhelming majority of officers are hardworking and that a few accusations do not define the group.
Bermúdez said it's about addressing a structural problem with the department. Rev. Brown thinks more action needs to be taken.
"I have a lot of great people working in the Hartford Police Department, but I also know there's some bad people in the police department and instead of giving these people second chances, we need to expel those people," Brown said.
The court left Torniero's bond at $175,000. A few city councilors who spoke with NBC Connecticut said they'd like to speak to the police chief and command staff about how to move forward.
