“On-duty officers were dispatched to [a State Street bar in Connecticut] at 2:37 a.m. on a report of gunfire,” nhregister.com reports. “Police found shell casings in the area where the shooting occurred and encountered the men. After it was determined that the gunmen were off-duty police officers, the investigation quickly grew into a major internal probe of the officers’ alleged actions.” Ouch. Apparently, the incident occurred at an inconvenient time for their boss . . .
The incident happened at a time when [Chief] Esserman is trying to reinstitute a community policing model and restore public trust that officials say has eroded in recent years.
Esserman said he didn’t view Sunday’s incident as a setback in that effort.
“The actions of a few do not speak for the many. The department’s rapid response to investigate itself I hope speaks to that issue,” Esserman said.
I don’t think that means what Esserman thinks it means. I imagine if some of New Haven’s community members got liquored-up and busted some caps at 2:37 in the morning they’d have faced a very different fate. That’s not to say the unidentified officers in question didn’t suffer the consequences.
By early afternoon, Esserman placed all three on paid leave and had them surrender their guns, badges and work identification.
To be fair, Providence’s famously hot-headed former top cop—removed after a controversy surrounding underage drinking at his daughter’s graduation party—can’t very well arrest his own troops. Not after the Providence Police Union’s “no confidence” vote helped ease him out of the door.
Speaking of which, back in February, ctnews.com reported that New Haven Police Union President Sergeant Louis Cavaliere called the Elm City’s police layoffs a “disgusting embarrassment” and “suggested that city residents arm themselves to ensure order in spite of the depleted police force.”
I’m not quite sure how that ties in. Something about setting a good example. Anyway, it made me laugh. I mean, it’s all fun and games—until a bullet lands on some poor kid’s head.
“That’s not to say the unidentified officers in question didn’t suffer the consequences.
By early afternoon, Esserman placed all three on paid leave and had them surrender their guns, badges and work identification.”
So, paid vacation. Three people responsible for getting drunk and shooting off guns in the middle of a city end up with an indefinite paid vacation.
Suffer the consequences? Is that a joke?
Paid leave WTF thats pretty much a paid vacation “oh we’re going to punish you by putting you out of work but we’re still going to pay you”. Hell that would make me want to do something to get suspended if I knew I was going to get paid anyway. Should have been laid off with no pay that’s punishment. paid leave is not a punishment that’s more like an award “here take a few paid days off for your good work”
“placed all three on paid leave”
So they get paid the same as if they where working, but do not have to go to work or do work. Am I the only one who has never understood this being a punishment? That is called paid time off or vacation days at most jobs.
Esserman was a total bust and an embarrassment to the City of Providence — and when you consider that Providence can teach Chicago a few things about corruption, incompetence and imperial leadership, that’s really saying something.
CT law enforcement has been having a rough couple of years: picking up prostitutes while on duty, applying/receiving food reinbursement for losses incurred from hurricane Irene, racial profiling. Fortunately, the Mystic/Stonington, CT cops are legit.
Not suprising. Just one more example in the long history of preferential treatment for the sanctified class over us mere mundanes.
Funny, you don’t look mundanish.
mun=swedish for mouth muden=danish for mouth. I think mundanish may be a Swinglish insult for Danish big-mouths, or perhaps Danes who simply have very large mouths. Doubt any of them are sanctified, so he’s basically on-track. Mundansk would be better.
I give up. I’m ready to admit it. We have some darn smart cops. I recently learned that the typical entry qualification has been upped to 2 years of military service or 2 years of community college. So face it. These guys avoid the whole “enormous college tuition and loans” thing of a real education AND somehow earn extra days of paid vacation by celebrating Iraqi Freedom Day in Hartford. So whose smart now, programmers! Buildin’ the country down one brick at a time.
My apologies to my local PD, which never pulls this kind of BS, but does have BA’s.
Comments are closed.