Connecticut Lawmakers Address Videotaping of Police

Connecticut Senators passed a measure last week that would clarify both to law enforcement and citizens, the right to videotape cops when acting in their official duties. In addition, lawmakers passed another bill that serves to strengthen racial profiling prevention methods already in place.

According to the Hartford Courant, the bill makes it clear that citizens have a right to videotape officers, even allowing citizens to sue officers who interfere in their videotaping. It does, however, lay out some exceptions.

Officers will not be held liable for interfering if the officer “reasonably believes” his interruption was to protect a crime scene or investigation. If the videotaping somehow compromises such an investigation, the officer can stop the citizen from recording.

The need for this bill became particularly apparent after Roman Catholic priest Rev. James Manship was arrested after recording East Haven police officers accused of hassling Hispanic citizens. His case led to the FBI investigation and federal arrest of four East Haven cops on charges of obstruction of justice and excessive force.

The bill passed 24-11 after four hours of debate.

The racial profiling bill takes existing measures and strengthens them in an effort to prevent racial profiling by law enforcement in the state of Connecticut.

The original racial profiling law was passed about a decade ago, at which time officials said there wasn’t a pattern of bias against minorities. But, Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams said this week, “Racial profiling is a problem in Connecticut and throughout the United States…it’s time to strengthen the law.”

A recent report from the Courant also said that minorities were more likely to receive tickets than white drivers after being stopped. Former state Representative Michael P. Lawlor backed this report when he said, “Almost every African-American has a story like that [of profiling], and very few white people do. It’s real.”

Now, all departments will be required to use a standardized form on all police stops. The form will include the officer’s name and badge number as well as the race, gender, age, color, and ethnicity of every person stopped. Also, rather than sending the reports only to the African American Affairs Commission, they will now go straight to the governor’s budget office.

The racial profiling bill passed 31-3.

Whether you believe you are a victim of racial profiling, or if you believe you were wrongfully arrested for recording police, we may be able to help.

You have rights when you are accused of a crime, and your defense attorney is there to help protect those rights. Contact my offices today to discuss your case.

East Haven Police Chief Steps Down Amid Racial Profiling Scandal

The town of East Haven has been at the center of national headlines concerning race relations and law enforcement for some time now. The chief in the center of this scandal announced his resignation early this week after an insensitive statement he uttered brought even more negative attention his way. But, despite his willingness to leave the department, this won’t be the last that is heard of Len Gallo.

The U.S. Department of Justice began a civil rights investigation into the small town department back in 2009. In December 2011, they announced they had found a pattern of discrimination against Latinos in the town, including racial profiling, intimidation, harassment and even assault.

According to Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General, “We found significant deviations from standard police practices that resulted in covering up or exacerbating the police department’s disparate treatment of Latino’s.”

As a result of the investigation, four officers are facing criminal charges and Gallo’s attorney revealed that he is one of the “unnamed coconspirators” in the criminal case.

Current Mayor Joseph Maturo reinstated Gallo last year after taking office; the previous mayor had placed him on administrative leave pending the results of the federal investigation. The Department of Justice was reportedly unhappy with Maturo’s action. Maturo seems to remain loyal to Gallo, calling his decision to step down, an “unselfish act”.

Leading up to his resignation, Gallo made waves when he discussed eating tacos to ease tensions between himself and Latino residents. In response, and taking his failed humor to heart, the group Junta for Progressive Action delivered tacos to his office last week and hoped to have an open dialogue with Gallo.

Not everyone is happy about Gallo’s decision to take unemployment into his own hands; the head of the local police commission said he wants to fire Gallo so he cannot collect his outstanding vacation and sick pay, a balance that could cash out to more than $100,000.

Gallo is also named in a civil lawsuit, filed by Latino Groups in the area. He could also be charged in the case involving four of his officers, though the exact charges are unclear.

When the entire police department of a town cannot be trusted, it leads to a deepening divide between the law enforcement and those they are said to serve. This rift can only increase conflict and the chances of violence between the two sides.

If you are charged with a criminal offense and don’t trust the officers who arrested you to tell the truth, your position is understandable and you are not alone. Having an experienced advocate on your side can help you get a fair shake in court.

Contact me to discuss the details of your charges.

New Haven Cops Raid Apartment, Leave Resident Bloodied

Fifty-four year old Tomas Torres was cooking and watching television last Wednesday afternoon when the police stormed in unexpectedly. Torres says he was punched and stomped while police laughed about his blood spatters staining the pants of one of the officers. The cops say they were looking for a drug dealer, but no drugs were found and no arrest was made.

The police say they had a lawful warrant for that apartment. And while Torres says crack dealers and prostitutes are known to hang out in the hallway, he does not associate with them. As a matter of fact, he keeps a pool cue by the door just in case, for self-protection.

Interestingly, the cops used this pool cue’s presence as justification for their violence, saying it posed a potential threat to them.

According to Torres himself, he heard a knock and asked who was there. He heard nothing but saw the cop cars outside. As he moved to open the door, it was forced open and several officers came in. He was punched in the face and shoved to the ground. One officer smashed his boot into Torres’ face as he lie there. The police cuffed him to a chair and asked where the drugs were.

The police claim Torres tried to escape from a window and resisted arrest. It was only after a Spanish speaking officer arrived that he was released to go to the hospital, where he found out his arm had been fractured.

In response to the incident, Lt. J. Paul Vance, as a spokesperson for the state police, said that there was “no record of police action anywhere in New Haven on Wednesday.” Had an arrest been made, there would have been a record, he said. On the other hand, Lt. Jeff Hoffman, with the city’s Tactical Narcotics Unit, confirmed the raid.

It isn’t clear where the police got their information, the information that led them to believe someone was selling drugs out of Torres’ apartment. But when he came home from the hospital at 1 a.m. the next morning, he found his home trashed. (See photos here). Though the officers didn’t find any drugs, they sure tossed the place in their pursuit.

In a perfect world, warrants are issued in the pursuit of real justice, only after steps have been taken to assure their integrity and correctness. But this isn’t a perfect world and mistaken raids are more common than they should be.

There are rules that must be followed by police in the issuance and execution of warrants and in searches. When they fail to abide by these rules, any evidence found can be ruled inadmissible in court. Combing through the evidence of a criminal case to ensure that the cops did their job correctly is often left to the defense lawyer.

If you are accused of a criminal offense and are in need of assistance, contact my offices today.

East Haven Police “Profoundly Broken” Say Feds

After a two-year investigation into the East Haven Police Department, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is saying the department is “broken” and will take years to fix. They are accused of violating the civil rights of Latinos within the community and as many as 15 officers could face criminal charges.

Investigators for the DOJ say this particular investigation was one of the hardest they’ve ever encountered to get information about. The reason for this difficulty is at least partially the Police Chief. Chief Leonard Gallo is mentioned in the 23 report as “creating a hostile work environment” for anyone that chose to help the DOJ. Through this and other efforts, he is accused of creating a “blue wall of silence” around the investigation, even making a bulletin board to out “rats within the PD.”

The police are accused of targeting Latinos unfairly and treating them more severely than other demographics. The Hartford Courant reports that the police stopped Latino drivers at far higher rates than whites or others within the community. Though they account for 10% of the town’s population, they accounted for anywhere from 33-50% of traffic stops for officers on the 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. shift.

Latinos within the town were followed and watched by officers waiting for them to make a mistake or violate a law. In one instance, an officer looked up a driver’s insurance information before pulling them over. In other words, they were seeking excuses to stop Latino drivers.

Once stopped, the DOJ found that Latinos were treated more severely than others as well. From having their cars towed to being subject to arrest whenever possible, the police went out of their way to hassle this segment of the local population.

Mayor Joseph Maturo, who reappointed Chief Gallo after he was placed on administrative leave in April by Maturo’s predecessor, criticized the report as being “slanderous” to the community. Others, including police commissioners, state that Gallo is not the person that will be able to lead the Department into reformation.

“’We absolutely need a new chief, It all starts from the top,’ Police Commission Chairman Frederick Brow said. ‘But the mayor has pretty well put us aside as a board and doesn’t want our opinion.’”

The civil rights investigation is now complete, though a criminal investigation is ongoing. It isn’t clear at this time what charges are being considered and against whom. Twenty-four officers have been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury.

What will happen to the East Haven Police Department remains to be seen. But for Latinos and anyone else in the town with a conscious, this could be the start of some much-needed changes.

Unsentenced Inmates On the Rise, as Other Incarceration Numbers Drop

Two state penal institutions have been closed in recent months; 21 correction supervisors have lost their jobs; and another institution will be shutting its doors soon. While all of these facts signal a smaller prison population statewide, the number of unsentenced inmates is climbing.

According to the CT Mirror, the number of inmates still facing criminal charges in Connecticut and jailed pending court dates has risen over the past three months. Since May, the number has climbed 8% to 3,632 in August. Despite this, the total number of all inmates (both sentenced and those yet to be sentenced) has continued to decline.

In most states if someone is not granted bail pending trial they are held at a county jail, separate from the population of sentenced inmates. Not so in Connecticut. Here, we throw them all together.

Although their numbers have risen in each of the past three months, the amount of unsentenced inmates in August of this year is actually down slightly from January and almost 12% lower than August of 2010. This paired with the declining general inmate population still has the state on track to close Enfield Correctional Institution by October and another either at the end of this fiscal year or beginning of the 2012-13 fiscal year.

Michael P. Lawlor, former state representative and head of the state’s Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division says that the increase in unsentenced inmates is simply due to increased enforcement and seasonal changes. This population, he says, is particularly volatile and it’s not unusual to see the numbers climb towards the end of summer. “For 10 years now it’s been a real area of concern.”

There are a variety of reasons that other states keep their sentenced and pretrial inmates in separate facilities. Counties are largely held responsible for the costs of pre-sentence detainment in this way and those detainees are not subject to quite the same level of institutionalization as those who have already been tried and sentenced.

Connecticut isn’t the only state closing prisons either. Many states are changing the way they do business in order to save money. With corrections accounting for a huge portion of the budget, it seems logical to find ways to slash this spending. By changing sentencing practices or releasing more inmates via parole, states can work to save money while chipping away at the out of control incarceration rates.

Whether you count yourself as a pretrial detainee or someone who believes they may be under investigation for a crime, I might be able to help. Contact me today to discuss your case and to potentially receive some valuable free legal advice.

State Crime Lab Faces Heat from Feds for “Staggering” Backlog

The Connecticut state forensics crime lab is under serious scrutiny after two federal audits and subsequent feedback. In 2004 there was no backlog in the lab. Today, there are 3,900 cases waiting processing, some nearing their statute of limitations deadline. As a matter of fact, the state is so concerned about these deadlines that the entire lab staff may have to solely focus on these cases, disregarding the others, in order to beat the deadline before cases have to be dismissed.

Governor Malloy has said “The audits fit into a larger picture. There are serious problems at the state crime lab.” He has since announced the creation of a 17 member panel to develop a plan to reduce the backlog. He’s also asked judges, police, and prosecutors to prioritize evidence going forward, giving lab workers some direction for handling the most urgent of cases.

The cases in the backlog represent everything from DNA rape tests to ballistics testing.

Part of the problem--DNA evidence submitted to the lab has jumped 400% since 2005. And while the cases coming into the lab have skyrocketed, staff has dropped 10%. In order to staff the lab full time to overcome the backlog, it’s estimated the state would have to spend an additional $3.7 million per year.

The federal audits were concerned that this backlog and lack of staff could create serious vulnerabilities and potential errors in the cases as existing staff struggles to keep or catch up.

According to the Hartford Courant:

In the validation section of the DNA audit, the investigators checked "no'' on each of the following questions: Does the lab follow written analytical procedures approved by the technical leader? Are the lab's standard operating procedures reviewed annually by the technical leader? Does the lab have standard procedures for each analytical method?

State officials are cautious to say that any errors have been made or that the reports open the door for any criminal appeals on cases that have already been processed. Kevin Kane, the Chief State’s Attorney says “these are preliminary reports” and that it would be “premature” to say any cases which hinged on DNA evidence were affected by the findings.

Of his newly appointed panel, Governor Malloy would like to see a plan in place by Feburary to get started on resolving the backlog and chronic understaffing. He plans on asking lawmakers to address the staffing situation as soon as possible.

The integrity of criminal evidence is crucial in any case. From the moment it is seized by the police, evidence must be handled with the most careful attention to detail in order to maintain its quality and its admissibility in a court of law.

If you are facing criminal charges in Connecticut and have questions about the evidence in your case contact me today.

CT Lawmakers decriminalize pot possession

The Connecticut legislature has passed a bill decriminalizing possession of marijuana. Governor Malloy has indicated his support, and will sign the bill into law.

The Wilton Bulletin reports that under the new law, possession of marijuana under half an ounce will only be a civil infraction, and not a criminal misdemeanor charge. The penalty will be a fine of $150 for a first offense, and up to $500 for a 2nd or subsequent possession offense.

However the law is different for those under 21 years old. Similar to alcohol possession, there is a mandatory 60 day driver's license loss for possession of pot, and a required drug education program.

Under the present law, marijuana possession is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1000 fine for possession of under 4oz. However, Attorney Erin Field is quoted as saying that such penalties are virtually never enforced. Typically, under the old (current) law, a deal would be worked out and a person would pay $700-800 for a drug treatment program, after which they would have their record cleared. So no permanent criminal record typically occurs.

Thirteen other states have decriminalized possession of marijuana, including Massachusetts and New York.

--

Previously: CT Marijuana decriminalization passes legislature, awaits governor's signature.