Militarized Police Becomes Issue in Race for Hartford Mayor

The issue of armed and militarized police came up during the most recent Hartford mayoral debate.

Voters head to the polls next week.

Mayor Pedro Segarra said has he is against militarized police as seen over the past year in places like Ferguson and Baltimore.

Today, Luke Bronin's campaign challenged the mayor by posting a collage of photos of weaponized all-terrain vehicles with the caption, "At ACLU debate, you objected to police militarization, did you OK Hartford getting one of these?"

The Hartford Police Department does have an armored vehicle, but the vehicle does not have any weaponry attached and has seldom been used.

The mayor said such a social media post from his challenger doesn't help conversations about improving the way city residents work with law enforcement.

"We don’t have a vehicle like that, and it’s not a good way to build community-police relationships," said Segarra. "It brings fear into people."

Bronin said such a vehicle doesn't serve a purpose in Hartford.

If, as mayor, he couldn't get rid of the vehicle, Bronin said he would task police with being very specific about ways the vehicle was deployed.

"You have to make sure there is a clear policy in place for how and when things like that could be used," he explained.

Segarra said the vehicle is not something the police department gravitates toward, and reiterated it has no capability to harm as a weapon.

"It’s not a weaponized vehicle. It’s a transport vehicle," Segarra said. "It has rarely been used and it’s not our preference to use those types of vehicles."

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