Lawmakers call for reform after Hearst CT investigation of police misconduct – CTPost

State lawmakers and activists say a Hearst Connecticut Media Group investigation into the shadowy and often lenient world of police discipline highlighted how more reform is needed beyond the passage of last years law enforcement accountability bill.

The big problem is the police are policing themselves, said state Rep. Robyn Porter, a New Haven Democrat and judiciary committee member.

While the landmark legislation state lawmakers passed last year should help address some problems exposed by the Hearst Connecticut report, There is more to be done, Porter said.

State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat and co-chairman of the judiciary committee, shared a similar outlook.

A key sponsor of last years Police Accountability Act, Stafstrom said the new law will result in significant changes and improvements in police discipline in the coming years.

What we were hearing from advocates and the public really matches up with your findings in that article, said Stafstrom. Frankly, I wish I could say I was surprised, but Im not. Thats why we made some of the reforms we did.

Still, he said, We continue to look for areas where there are gaps and deficiencies in how police departments are held accountable and how we provide public transparency.

Hearst Connecticut examined more than 1,800 internal affairs investigations by 30 local police departments in Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield and Middlesex counties between 2015 and 2020.

About 40 percent of the internal charges were sustained, meaning misconduct was found. Only about a quarter of sustained cases drew a suspension from duty, the most serious form of punishment short of termination. About one percent of sustained cases led to an officer being fired.

Most sustained cases drew a reprimand, counseling or an order for more training the lightest punishment available.

The investigation also found that police departments struggle with transparency. Seven departments, including Bridgeport the states largest city did not provide any records. Other departments omitted key details in the records they provided in response to requests through state freedom of information. And, because of vague language police often used to describe officer misconduct, its unclear if the records provided accurately reflect the total number of claims of excessive force.

This is why people are protesting across the country for police reform, Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut chapter of the NAACP. There needs to be more police accountability and police reform for officers involved in misconduct.

Police officials, however, defended how officer misconduct is investigated and how discipline is issued.

We certainly do the best we can to police ourselves, said Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour, who is president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. Every department has a system of progressive discipline. If its something that can be corrected, we do training and a reprimand. If its more serious, you can get a suspension or termination.

Ridenhour noted departments must adhere to union contracts and officers can appeal to reduce or overturn punishments. He said discipline handed out by departments is often more costly to officers than it may appear.

When people see a three-day suspension, or four or five days, people think thats not sufficient, Ridenhour said. But, There is a sufficient cost to being out of work with loss of pay. A three-day suspension can cost up to $2,500. There is a significant cost, and it can be a detriment.

Among the lawmakers and activists who believe more reform is needed, there is a range of ideas of what the next steps should be.

Esdaile said there should be independent oversight over police departments.

We have always had issues with police officers policing themselves and the internal affairs and collective bargaining [union] agreements have not made sense to us, Esdaile said. We always felt there should be an outside, non-biased organization investigating these complaints.

Porter listed a series of changes she said are needed, including not allowing fired cops to work at other departments and completely doing away with a provision last years reform legislation chipped away at: qualified immunity, which shields cops from personal liability for their actions.

We know why this stuff happens. They [police officers] are getting away with it, Porter said. They are above the law and they know that. We have to make sure people understand thats not the case.

Beyond law changes, departments and their officers need to change their mindset, Porter said. Some of this stuff you cant legislate; you have to treat people like you wanted to be treated, Porter said. There is level of respect and things need to be done in decency and order. Its still the same culture; its still us against them.

Camelle Scott, executive director of the Black Infinity Collective based in New Haven, said she has given up on seeking meaningful reform of the existing policing system.

This situation is a prime example of why reform is an inadequate response, Scott said. Abolition is the only path forward.

Abolition refers to a national movement that supports disbanding police departments and allocating the money to other initiatives, such as social programs, community building and job creation.

Some envision replacing traditional police with mental health specialists or crisis and intervention teams that would handle routine police matters. While there is debate within the movement over whether any traditional police would remain, there is general agreement that the current police state must go.

We support the efforts of community-based groups to implement reforms that reduce harm and move us closer to abolition, and we are grateful for the thoughtfulness and intentionality of groups that prioritize both harm reduction and abolition, Scott said.

Stafstrom said last years accountability bill allows municipalities to get tougher on officers and makes it easier to take away an officers certification, the state-issued license to work in law enforcement.

We had heard that from folks that its hard to fire an officer because of the grievance process, Stafstrom said. We have heard frustration from reform advocates and complaints from police chiefs and elected officials that the state labor board says no and its sent back.

The Connecticut State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, which is empowered to review punishments by police departments, can reverse discipline and even reinstate fired officers, based on a reading of union contracts that establish the rules officers operate under and state law. A Hearst Connecticut review in 2019 uncovered seven officers fired by Connecticut municipalities over the prior two years were reinstated by the mediation board.

Stafstrom said the legislation also gave more teeth to the POST [Police Officer Standards and Training] Council to decertify an officer for conduct that undermines public confidence in law enforcement on the job and off the job.

The council provides an officer the license to work in law enforcement. The council can now decertify officers for more offenses; previously a felony conviction was the most often reason applied.

The bill also created an independent state Office of Inspector General to rule on serious use of force violations and the death of suspects at the hands of officers, and local communities were given the authority to create civilian review boards with the power to subpoena police department records.

Ill be interested to see how the statistics change from 2021 to 2025, Stafstrom said.

We made reforms, and Im not saying we are done, but we made reforms, he said. In some of these instances, its incumbent on local leadership to make sure their department is accountable to some sort of civilian review board.

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Lawmakers call for reform after Hearst CT investigation of police misconduct - CTPost