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.