HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut NAACP officials gathered outside of Hartford City Hall Wednesday to express disappointment in a judge’s decision this week to end federal oversight of the Hartford Police Department.
“We’re concerned about black and brown people being intimidated: number one. We’re concerned about black people being humiliated and we’re concerned about the violence,” said Scot X. Esdaile, President of Connecticut NAACP. “Right now, black and brown people in the City of Hartford are living in a very traumatic situation.”
Esdaile joined local NAACP branch leaders to call for civil rights safeguards to be written into a protocol.
Humiliation, intimidation, and violence were all reasons for a lawsuit in the 1970s that created federal oversight of the Hartford Police Department. HPD has made a lot of changes since then, hiring more minority officers, adopting community policing, and creating a citizen review board. But civil rights leaders said the city can’t afford to go backward now.
The same detectives working to crack cases for brokenhearted loved ones were investigated for wagering on the location of Hartford’s first slaying of 2021.
“This sounds like humiliation,” said Esdaile, pointing to that incident as one of several reasons the NAACP is calling for continued oversight.
A 1973 legal settlement established a consent decree that created Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight of the Hartford Police Department--meant to put safeguards in place against excessive use of force, racial disparities, traffic stops, and allegations of civil rights violations.
This week, a federal judge ended DOJ oversight after 50 years in spite of the City Council passing a resolution last month to extend that decree.
“There are gaps in trust with the police department, so we have a lot of work to be done,” said Councilor T.J. Clark II.
Police Chief Jason Thody said, “The Cintron settlement was an incredibly progressive, far-sighted document in the 1970s, and it helped lay out a path and a foundation for reform and accountability that was immeasurably important. While the decision to end court oversight after five decades recognizes the progress we have made, it only strengthens our dedication to improving the department and building a closer relationship with our community. I recognize that some are concerned about the dissolution of this consent decree, but I assure everyone that the Hartford Police Department’s devotion to building trust and being a leader in progressive policing is rooted in our commitment to constant improvement and our partnership with the Hartford community, and not in a court order."
Since the decree was revised in 2010, HPD created a recruitment office. The 2022 recruit class was made up of 73 percent minorities. The consent decree also led to the creation of a Civilian Police Review Board where citizen complaints are reviewed independently.
Mayor Luke Bronin said, “We actually strengthened the Civilian Police Review Board a few years ago. It’s in city ordinance, so the Civilian Police Review Board we have now is even stronger than it was under the decent decree. And while the decent decree goes away, the reforms that we’ve made will not.”
Clark said the Civilian Police Review Board and the more recently established Police Accountability Board are both in need of new members. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact the Hartford City Council.
Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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