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PRESIDENT RICHARD HOLTON
Office of The President
Statement of
The Hartford Police Union
To the
Public Safety and Security Committee
Good morning Senator Hartley, Representative Dargan and members of the Public Safety and Security Committee. My name is Richard Holton, a Sergeant in the Hartford Police Department with 15 years of policing experience. I am also the President of the Hartford Police Union, the largest independent municipal police union in the state. On behalf of all the members of the Hartford Police Union, which is comprised of Patrolmen, Detectives, Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains, we appreciate your dedication and thank you in raising House Bill #6268, An Act Imposing A Mandatory Minimum Sentence for Assault of A Public Safety, Emergency Medical or Public Transit Personnel.
Each day Police Officers, courageous men and women, across this state and country come to work and put their lives on the line, whether it’s during a traffic stop, a special detail, civil unrest, domestic disturbance, dealing with a suspicious person or the handling and transportation of prisoners. They kiss their wives and husbands good bye not knowing what they will face and even if they will return home.
I came here before you last year and testified in favor of mandatory minimum sentencing for individuals who assaulted Police Officers. I am here again asking you to pass this bill once more. In a year and a half there have been several serious assaults on police officers in the Capital City with the most recent being the Shooting of Officer Dave Ragion and the attempted Shooting of Officer Rodney in 2010.
Over this past year and a half there have been 9 incidents where Officers were, shot, shot at or had to discharge their firearms in the line of duty, with most of these incidents occurring in 2010.
These recent incidents illustrate the dangers of the police profession whether it’s in an urban environment or in a suburban neighborhood.
• According to the most recent Department of Justice, Uniformed Crime Report, there were 57,268 Police Officers Assaulted and 48 Murdered in 2009 an 18% increase from 2008.
• In 2010 there were 59 Officers Murdered in the line of duty, a 21% increase from 2009.
• The rate of Officers Assaulted in 2009 was 10.3 assaults per 100 sworn officers.
• In 2008 Hartford P.D. had 91 Officers Assaulted in the line of duty equating to 54% of the Dept. actively engaged in field work and 12% of the Officers assaulted in the state that year.
• In 2009 Hartford P.D. had 82 Officers assaulted in the line of duty equating to 49% of the Dept. actively engaged in field work and 11% of Officers assaulted in the state that year.
• In 2010 Hartford P.D. had 107 Officers assaulted in the line of duty equating to 63.5% of the Dept. actively engaged in field work and 14% of the Officer assaulted in the state that year.
• The average number of Police Officers assaulted in this country fluctuates between 57 thousand and 60 thousand a year.
• To date there have been at least 8 Officers Killed in the line of duty this year.
It is and continues to be the perception of my membership that the majority of them will not report minor assaults because they strongly believe that the case will not be prosecuted. They also believe that most of the individuals charged with assaulting a Police Officer will have their charges reduced or even nolled.
Police Officers who are victims of Assaults are routinely not advised of their rights afforded to them as victims. Based on most estimates Police Officers who are assaulted are arguably one of the most pervasive victim classes in the country. Since 2000 to 2009 there have been 590,507 Police officers assaulted in this country.
We want you to know that any comments or actions made by any individual that advocate the assaulting or the killing of a Police Officer should not and cannot be tolerated by the society we serve.
Our members are expected to confront and address many members of society whose behavior is resistant, cruel, brutal, sadistic and violent. Police Officers see and face what most of society fears on a daily basis. When society is near the edge of falling into chaos it is these brave individuals who keep society from going over that edge. They see and deal with the underbelly of society, and when they are attacked or assaulted in the performance of their duties the remaining segment of society must stand up and denounce those actions.
We believe it is the role of our Law Makers to provide additional deterrents to those individuals in society who resist theses efforts at the risk of injury and assault on our Public Safety Officers. The passing of this bill will send a clear message to the segment of society that wishes to do harm and create chaos, that when they attack/assault the very individuals charged with keeping society safe there will be severe consequences.
I thank and applaud you for taking up this cause once more.
VICE PRESIDENT NAZARIO R. FIGUEROA
Office of The Vice President
Statement of
The Hartford Police Union
To the
Public Safety and Security Committee
Good morning Senator Hartley, Representative Dargan and members of the Public Safety and Security Committee. My name is Nazario J. Figueroa, a Police Officer in the Hartford Police Department with 15 years of policing experience. I am also the Vice President of the Hartford Police Union, the largest independent municipal police union in the state. On behalf of all the members of the Hartford Police Union, which is comprised of Patrolmen, Detectives, Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains, we appreciate your dedication and time and thank you for allowing me to testify.
The Hartford Police Union opposes House Bill #6110 (COMM) AN ACT REQUIRING DOUBLED FINES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS IN MUNICIPAL CONSTRUCTION ZONES AND PROHIBITING MUNICIPALITIES FROM REQUIRING POLICE SUPERVISION OF CONSTRUCTION ZONES.
As many of you are aware the members of my Union along with the members of every major municipal police department in the State performs the function that the bill is intending to prohibit. These prohibitions would be a tremendous financial impact on these police officers without access to the process of collective bargaining or violations of existing agreements, however it has far greater impact on the safety of the work crews, it purports to protect, the safety of the motoring and pedestrian public and the municipalities we serve.
This bill suggests that the contractors have a greater grasp of the safety and security issues than the local authority in determining the needs and standards of each municipality. Hartford Police Officers have the expertise required, especially in an urban setting to handle often dangerous situations that can arise at a local road excavation performed by utility companies and their contractors. Requirements for traffic control are only made after the careful review of construction permits to the local traffic control authority of each municipality, taking into consideration anticipated disruption and safety hazards to the public. Such requirements are not created in a vacuum and are not established for the interest of the contractors’ liability or financial cost. This bill fails to recognize the municipalities’ responsibility, which is, to ensure the safety concerns of the general public, the minimal disruption of the flow of traffic, and conformance with the issued permit. These conditions must be constantly maintained in the municipalities’ interest.
By seeking to remove the municipalities’ requirement of a uniformed police officer, the greatest preventative safety factor to the work crew and the public, one can only ask, what is the true intent of this bill?
The Hartford Police Union urges the committee not to support this bill and to carefully consider the impact of this bill would have on municipalities and their ability to provide public safety to its residents, businesses and visitors and respectfully ask you to hold your vote.
As an individual who has worked numerous construction permit sites with many a story to tell I welcome your questions and urge you to not consider passage of this bill.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this issue
PATROLMAN NAZARIO J. FIGUEROA
Hartford Police Union Vice President
