HARTFORD, Conn — Protests Monday in Hartford went from the grass at Keney Park to the asphalt of I-84. The protest shut that down traffic ended peacefully. Before protesters left the highway, they formed a prayer circle in which state troopers also participated and spoke with participants.
Brian Foley, the spokesperson for the Department of Emergency Services and Management, spoke with FOX61’S Angelo Bavaro Tuesday morning on the relationship police have with communities in Connecticut.
He said that the peaceful protests Monday wwere a “together moment” between protesters and state police and that the relationship between police and residents in the state were “ahead of the curve” in comparison to other parts of the country.
Foley stated that a police department is graded on a report card when something bad or tragic happens and that it’s important to keep building that relationship with the community. He went on to say that it wasn't a case of George Floyd dying, and now suddenly Connecticut police want to be involved in a community relationship.
Monday night, President Trump threatened military action if states did not bring outside agitators embedded in these protests under order. Foley said that Connecticut police don't take orders from Washington D.C., but rather from their communities and that they know how to best police their state and that they bring the narratives down to a community level to take the best action they can.
On Sunday, Foley also spoke with FOX61 regarding the protests.
He acknowledges there is a lot of work to be done both in police culture and in police needing to regain the trust of their communities, referring back to Hartford in the 1960s.
Protests around the country have erupted in response to the killing of George Floyd, pinned to the ground by officer Derek Chauvin with the Minneapolis Police Department. Chauvin is seen on camera with his knee pressed against Floyd’s neck for nearly 10 minutes while Floyd cries out that he can’t breathe. He was later pronounced dead, and two separate autopsies concluded his death was a homicide.
Other officers were seen in the video, but they have not been charged at this time.