Cop Accused Of Brutality—A 9th Time

by Melinda Tuhus & Thomas MacMillan | Jan 7, 2011 4:02 pm

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Posted to: Immigrants, Legal Writes

When Alvaro Garzon filed an official complaint accusing Officer Dennis O’Connell of choking and tasing him while he was handcuffed, it prompted the ninth internal affairs investigation of the officer in six years. Garzon’s hands shook Thursday as he filed his complaint with a police department internal affairs officer. His eyes teared up. The refugee from war-torn Colombia was remembering other police and military officers he’d run into—and how they wanted him dead. Garzon filed his complaint Thursday and participated in a rally outside the police station against police brutality. Garzon’s is the latest in a growing litany of citizen accusations against O’Connell, who has been repeatedly accused of physically abusing people. Officer O’Connell’s personnel file offers another side to that story. The file indicates O’Connell was reprimanded and suspended after his involvement in multiple motor vehicle accidents, due to reckless driving. He has also claimed that he suffered physical injury while arresting suspects. He filed at least a dozen workers compensation claims over the past decade. The substance of those claims are not public information. A review of internal affairs files on O’Connell reveals that his department superiors have found him at fault only once, and even then did not punish him. (That tally does not account for two case files that were unavailable.) Garzon filed his complaint Thursday afternoon in conjunction with the rally outside 1 Union Ave. It was the latest instance of a growing local concern over how New Haven’s officials are dealing, or not dealing, with allegations over police misconduct. Also, aldermen have asked for more information about the department’s use of tasers.



Read previous stories here and here. O’Connell could not be reached and police union boss Louis Cavaliere did not return calls seeking comment. Alvaro Garzon fled his native Colombia, escaping death threats because of his human rights work. He came to the U.S. as a refugee. He was terrified of the police. He filed the complaint with support from 15 activists—including two others with complaints outstanding against the same officer—after reading a previous Independent/ La Voz Hispana story and contacting protest organizers. Garzon’s three children attended the protest with their father. Garzon said O’Connell, responding to a minor domestic disturbance at his home on Eastern Street, arrested him, tased him several times, then kneed him in the neck, cutting off his breathing. “We do look to see if there’s a problem with a particular officer, and try to intervene,” said Capt. Denise Blanchard (pictured), head of internal affairs, when asked what the procedure is when these complaints are filed. Protest organizer (and fellow Colombian) John Jairo Lugo chimed in, “In this case, it’s the same police officer.” “People file complaints with internal affairs,” said another protest leader, Jewu Richardson, “and they get letters in the mail a couple of months later saying, ‘Due to extensive investigation of this complaint, we didn’t find any wrongdoing by officers,’ and the case is closed.” In the case of two others who filed complaints three years ago against O’Connell, Richardson said they never heard anything. “Does it normally take two to three years for people to hear from their complaints when they file with internal affairs?” Richardson asked Blanchard. “I would say, normally, not,” Blanchard responded, adding that she’s been in charge for only a year, and noting that every case—even multiple charges against the same officer—is investigated individually. “However, what I can do is try to find that information for you and promptly get back to you. So you will hear from me either later today or tomorrow, and I can let you know exactly what I have.” Richardson expressed his displeasure with the police investigating themselves. He said the community has no faith in the credibility of the internal affairs division or the police department in general. As for Garzon’s complaint, Blanchard said he would hear something within seven days. Garzon goes to court Jan. 24, to defend himself against charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest resulting from his run-in with O’Connell. He said his public defender is urging him to plead guilty and accept probation. He doesn’t want to do that. “I am not guilty,” he said. The Record: Exoneration Protesters at Thursday’s rally say the police department has dismissed or ignored the repeated complaints about O’Connell’s alleged misconduct. An examination of internal affairs files on O’Connell revealed what official action has been taken. The Independent reviewed those files on Friday in response to a request under the Connecticut Freedom Of Information Act. A cover sheet from Captain Denise Blanchard, head of IA, states that O’Connell is involved in eight IA cases, plus Garzon’s, filed on Thursday. Files on only the most recent six cases were provided. Of those cases, O’Connell was found at to have violated orders and regulations only once. In that case, then Acting Police Chief Stephanie Redding decided that there was “no just cause for disciplinary action.” That ruling was in the case of a man named Dramese Fair, who accused O’Connell and two other officers of performing a strip search on him and then sexually assaulting him on June 6, 2007. According to a report prepared by Sgt. Craig Guglielmo, Fair said that police arrested him without cause, maced him, and kicked him, and that Officer O’Connell dragged him down a flight of concrete steps and headbutted him. Back at the police station, O’Connell pulled down Fair’s pants and underwear and “puts his finger in my anal,” according to Fair. According to Sgt. Guglielmo’s report, another officer backed up Fair’s claim that he was dragged down the stairs. “Naw, he wasn’t dragged,” O’Connell said, according to Guglielmo’s report. “No. He was still resisting, but I had his legs.” O’Connell stated that Fair was verbally abusive and physically dangerous, resisting arrest, and had kicked him in the chest. During his pat-down, he felt what seemed to be drugs, O’Connell told Guglielmo. Hence the strip search. “At no time did I spread his buttocks or insert a finger in his anus. Never. No. No,” O’Connell told Guglielmo. Guglielmo found that O’Connell had violated eight General Orders, training bulletins, and departmental rules, all of which were related to the improper execution of a strip search. He was not found to have violated any rules regarding physical abuse. That’s true also of the other files involving O’Connell. He was accused of abusing a man named Jonathan Avila on Feb. 16 2008. Avila told police that O’Connell took off his badge and entered his apartment, where he headbutted him, maced him, threw him into a glass shelf. O’Connell said Avila had threatened to kill him and someone had tried to take his gun, forcing him to punch Avila. O’Connell was exonerated. Another man said O’Connell punched him in the face, maced him, choked him, threw him against a police car, and kicked him on April 30, 2007. O’Connell told the IA investigator that the man “just went crazy” when he tried to pat him down. The man tried to gouge his eyes out and tried to grab his gun, forcing him to punch him and mace him according to O’Connell. He was exonerated. Abel Sanchez accused O’Connell of brutally beating him on Jan. 6, 2008. O’Connell told IA that Sanchez had been yelling and swinging his arms and refusing arrest. He was exonerated. A woman accused O’Connell of verbally abusing and falsely arresting her on Jan. 1, 2008. She told police she was injured while being handcuffed. O’Connell told IA that the woman was uncooperative and refused to be arrested as part of a dispute involving an XBox 360 video game console. He was exonerated. Two other investigations against O’Connell were closed because of a lack due to a lack of substantiation or a failure for the complainant to follow-up. Dangers Of The Job In addition to filing multiple workmen complaints, O’Connell has been in numerous car accidents. O’Connell was officially reprimanded and then suspended for one day after being in six “at-fault” accidents between June 2001 and the end of 2005. The last of these was Dec. 26, 2005. O’Connell was in pursuit of a stolen black Lexus and “failed to properly negotiate the stopping distance between his vehicle and the perpetrators we was pursuing on Ferry and Saltonstall,” according to a report by Capt. Stephen Verrelli. O’Connel had to swerve, hitting two poles, smashing up his cruiser, and injuring himself and another officer.

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posted by: New Havener on January 7, 2011 5:24pm It would be interesting to see the number of complaints regarding Officer O’Connell vs. other officers. It would seem that if his numbers are outside the norm then there is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with.

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 7, 2011 5:25pm This cop sounds like a real Bully. Someone please tell him this is America and he does not have the right to unilaterally suspend civil rights. He sounds like a danger both on and off the road and his record of service, sadly, does a disservice to citizens as well as to New Haven Police. Take away his license, his sidearm and his badge. NHPD: We expect better.

posted by: lance on January 7, 2011 5:45pm ... And a good reporter would have got more background on the initial domestic dispute/arrest and relayed said info to us in the article. But since the independent is a leftist publication, I guess I’m not surprised it was omitted.

posted by: JAK on January 7, 2011 6:14pm Sounds like the real culprit is the Public Defender who wants to have an innocent man punished for nothing.

posted by: Louis on January 7, 2011 6:27pm It’s hard for people in safe neighborhoods to understand, but in some neighborhoods, people challenge lawful arrests and fight the police. It is a dangerous job in New Haven, and officers and suspects are sometimes injured. Officers deal with people who are prone to violence all the time, and sometimes talking fails and physical force has to be used as a last resort.The more active the officer is, the more it will happen with that officer. It is difficult and dangerous to enter someone’s home on a domestic abuse call. The suspects are often belligerent and intoxicated, and insist that they have done nothing wrong. Then they resist arrest and want to fight you. The article is very one-sided.

posted by: Bishop on January 7, 2011 7:11pm How about Injuries: Police and Firefighters who retire on a disability are allowed to a tax credit. The tax credit is that they only pay Federal Income taxes on half of their budgeted salaries.Not bad when you retire at $100,000+, your taxed on half of whatever your budgeted salary is.If you make

$100,000 and your salary is $65,000, the taxable income is $32,500. it would be very interesting to find out what the percentage of

police and firefighters retire on a disability. If I was one I would put in a injury every time I responded to a call.All you need is a track record.

posted by: Gary Doyens on January 7, 2011 7:13pm How much money has the city paid out in claims?

posted by: jjlowe332 on January 7, 2011 11:05pm it seems these people are hunting down arrestees involved with this officer. there is some reason they were arrested but i guess when police defend themselves they shouldnt hit back… all these complaints are from years ago and happen to surface? please..

posted by: Rob on January 8, 2011 4:58am Fire him and prosecute him.

posted by: Joe Currie on January 8, 2011 8:21am This cop is crooked and dangerous. Hopefully he is stopped before he kills someone. This “blue wall” HAS to be stopped - I mean just look at the workman’s comp claims. Every person he arrests supposedly fights back. Is IA comprised of complete idiots? How do these people get into the positions they’re in? It all smells like garbage to me. We’re supposed to trust police to protect and serve. In this town, since moving here in ‘05, i would try ANYTHING but the police when needed in an emergency. very sad

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 8, 2011 9:53am To JJLOWE332 and Lance: Does this sound like Police self-defense?:

-“Fair said that police arrested him without cause, maced him, and kicked him, and that Officer O’Connell dragged him down a flight of concrete steps and headbutted him.”

-“Avila told police that O’Connell took off his badge and entered his apartment, where he headbutted him, maced him, threw him into a glass shelf”

Those are just a couple of the many incidents alleged to have occurred. Police are supposed to be trained to minimize - not escalate volatile situations. That older charges are brought forth, is a good thing- it establishes a pattern of abuse and a disregard for established protocol. No one is denying that officers have a very tough job and deal with some very dangerous criminals- but that is what they sign up for when they decide to put on the badge. Along with the privilege of wearing that badge comes an extraordinary responsibility and mandate to “preserve and protect.” By many accounts, Officer O’Connell has done the opposite.



To Lance: If reporting on Police abuse cases makes New Haven Independent a “leftist publication” so be it. To my mind, it is an apolitical act that goes right to the heart of what justice is supposed to mean in our great country. The “right wing” slant you’d prefer to see, is more emblematic of a fascist state where everything is kept hush-hush by the government and its supporters.

posted by: Charlie O'Keefe on January 8, 2011 11:42am I just can’t wait to hear how much this guy’s pension will be.

posted by: Steve on January 8, 2011 11:46am Bishop These 100k pensions you speak of are a small minority of cops and firefighters. Believe it or not these individuals do get hurt doing a very demanding job. Also they do not receive social security and they pay weekly into their pensions. It amazes me how the public can turn on these brave men and women as soon as we reach trying times nationally. I never once read a complaint about an average 55k pension when times were good. I have lived in the Fair Haven for thirty plus years and have witnessed the work of our civil servants first hand. They do an unbelievable job a vast majority of the time. When was the last time you ran down a dark alley chasing an armed felon or had fire over your head and bottle running out of air? If you think these workers are overpaid imagine walking a mile in their shoes (shorter life expectancies, debilitating injuries, as witnessed recently death. It makes me sick to see them badmouthed on this board.

posted by: notty on January 8, 2011 11:52am Wondering if those IA complaints regarding the officers response to the complaints against him resulted in charges of assault on a police officer, because if the officer did not charge the plaintiffs with assault one would have to wonder if the plaintiffs were truly resisting arrest as the officer states.

posted by: THREEFIFTHS on January 8, 2011 1:19pm Look at what the police do to there own.

New York’s Finest Police Cover-Up

Ten cops beat up cabbie, then cuff one of their own for trying to stop them.

A A A Comments (132) By Graham Rayman Wednesday, Oct 13 2010

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-10-13/news/nypd-cover-up-cabbie/

NYPD Tapes 4: The WhistleBlower, Adrian Schoolcraft

He wanted his bosses to know about NYPD misconduct. So they put him in a mental ward

A A A Comments (37) By Graham Rayman Tuesday, Jun 15 2010

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-15/news/adrian-school-craft-nypd-tapes-whistleblower/

Fellow cops clobbered me after wife called 911 for help vs. thugs, NYPD Officer Larry Jackson claims

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/26/2010-08-26_sez_wife_called_for_help_vs_thugs_then_fellow_officers_stormed_house_clubbed_him.html

posted by: Anon on January 8, 2011 4:53pm It would take a lot of work but the independent, or anyone, could do a study of the city’s payouts for cop lawsuits for the last decade or so. Once the cases are closed the papers are public information. So the settlement amounts are part of city records, even if they are not available from the court.

posted by: time to move this thread on January 9, 2011 10:26am time to move this thread… people are tired of this story. how about a follow up on the cases where O’Connell is accused of abuse? where is avila? and why wasn’t he at the pd inquiring?

posted by: Pike Nelson on January 9, 2011 1:46pm Damn Fine police work. I wish all you cop haters could do a ride along for a couple weeks to see the real behavior of the complainers in this article. Most of the people you give validity to in this pile of drivel are convicted felons with rap sheets as bad as Paul Bass’s journalism standards.

posted by: Elaine on January 9, 2011 3:12pm So many complaints. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Who can, with a straight face, claim that O’Connell is not a bad cop - a coward and a bully? How many chances should he get and how many innocent people must be hurt? Get him out - NOW.

posted by: concerned on January 9, 2011 7:03pm This officer used to have a “hold down” at Toads place, meaning he worked there as an extra duty officer every weekend. ... I once witnessed him take down an intoxicated individual that weighed about 110 lbs and slam him to the ground for no apparent reason. I filed a complaint on behalf of the man and never heard back. The man suffered injuries to his face and back. This officer is a disgrace and gives a bad name to the good officers we have in the dept.

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 9, 2011 7:52pm Pike: No one has said anything negative about good cops. Your defense of a cop whose bad files rise like a double stack of flap jacks, does not help the good and worthy officers of the N.H. Police Department. No one has painted anyone with a broad brush here except YOU- a case of bad commentary devoid of factual content. It would have been negligent and a poor journalistic standard to not report on the facts of this case, and all the others that have been a festering blight on criminal justice standards. Getting to the bottom of this is a public service… defending the alleged actions of the officer in question, is the only “drivel” I have seen here.

posted by: Daniel Casey on January 9, 2011 8:19pm apparently the “three strikes” policy doesn’t apply snarkiness aside—CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD

posted by: FINALLY on January 9, 2011 8:54pm Thank you Steve, finally someone gets it….so so sad that the public can not take responsibility for their own actions. WE certainly have to..contrary to popular belief. PEOPLE, don’t believe what the media sells you…you look like ignorant fools. Why is it so difficult for certain medias to print the whole picture and not parts of the picture so citizens are left to fill in the blanks…

posted by: kamb on January 9, 2011 9:17pm The NHI (New Haven Independent) took the time to FOI (freedom of information) all of this Officers records and put, well some of the information online. WHat about Officer OConnell numerous write-ups and awards he received?! They are all FOI and in his file? Does the bias NHI report that Officer OConnell has arrested numerous violent felony who had guns on them? That he had loaded guns pulled on him? No they dont. Insteas they treat Officer O’Connell like a criminal. Even his picture looks like an arrest photo. WHy didnt you draw bars on the photo to make him look worse? What a BAD article. He is a tough cop who is fair and does his job. You reported he got hurt diving in a car window trying to grab a gun from a person. HOW ABOUT AN ARTICLE ON THAT! How many people would do that? And he does that and puts himself in harms way, for what? For a raise? For praise from the Major? For the citizens to say good job? Hell NO! He does it because thats what he is paid to do! He’s a great cop and I wish we had more of him! GREAT JOB O’CONNELL, keep up the good work!!!!! To all you other NH residents who dont like cops like this, get your head out of your backside. Its a violent town and people, old, young, middle age, challenge our officers everyday just to make a name for themselves.

posted by: low rider on January 9, 2011 9:20pm So what this cop has been accused of brutality 9 times? You can call a cat a dog over and over, but it doesnt mean its true. I hope the cops in our Elm City get even tougher on crime, within the law of coarse. God bless the NHPD! Thank you for you service.

posted by: Morris Cove Mom on January 10, 2011 11:25am I can’t figure out which side to take in this story. It’s not that I don’t believe those saying they were victimized by Office O’Connell. It’s just that I grew up the granddaughter of an officer, so I heard a lot of crazy stories about people resisting arrest and attacking him. It seemed more common than not. But what I also heard was that he became increasingly more violent as time passed, due to the violence he encountered. What happens to some officers is that they start seeing everyone as someone who will attack them at any moment, so they attack them first. It’s kind of like PTSD. But that being said, it doesn’t make this behavior, this violence, tolerable or right. He should be removed for a psychiatric evaluation, and counseling, at the minimum. It’s cases like these that sour people on cooperating with the police, and see this one officer as a bad apple in a bunch of good ones. The NHPD needs to do better by the people of New Haven, and by its own officers.

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 10, 2011 11:32am To Kamb: you said,“What about Officer O’Connell’s numerous write-ups and awards he received?”

Officer O’Connell’s awards and the deeds that lead up to them, did not leave a trail of broken bodies and violated spirits. This article is about specific charges and is not a referendum on the entire police department as some of you abuse apologists suggest. To criticize the actions of one officer is not to indict all officers. Get it straight!

posted by: Huh? on January 10, 2011 11:37am Someone explain to me why some people think it’s okay to resist arrest? And then they are shocked and surprised if they get hurt?

posted by: Police officer on January 10, 2011 3:35pm Many officers who effectively do their job are subject to Internal Affairs complaints. Some are justified and many others are not. If you judge this officers based solely on this one sided article, you are not being fair. If you knew Ofc. O’Connell you would be thankful he was out there protecting you. I know him and know this to be a fact. No officer is looking to do what the protesters are saying. Why would they? It makes no sense what so ever. I suggest you get the facts first before you cast judgement. ...

posted by: really? on January 10, 2011 4:35pm Mr. Garzon should take care of his drinking and driving habit/ pending case from 2000 before he starts preaching. It also says on the judicial website his re-arrest was ordered. He should probably get that warrant taken care of. Just saying….. Re-Arrest ordered: 8/29/2001 14-239(a) DRIVE WRONG WAY-ONE WAY STREET

14-215 ILL OPN MV UNDER SUSPENSION

14-227a ILL OPN MV UNDER INFL ALC/DRUG

posted by: kamb on January 10, 2011 5:03pm To TRUTH AVENGER

You missed the point. Obviously the article took O’Connells information and only reported things in his file that sounded bad. If one is gou g to report they should.report the goodamd extraordinary to to be fair. That’s called a story with ALL the facts. Anything can be spun to sound negative. Don’t be so quick to judge someone who protects you. Check and reportand FOI the people making these claims. See there extensive law breaking backgrond, domestic abuse, and drug dealing.

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 10, 2011 7:04pm Kamb: The bottom line is that Officer O’Connell is just that-an officer. He is not the judge and Jury- and he is certainly not the “executioner.” There are laws pertaining to unreasonable, excessive or abusive force and if the officer has repeatedly engaged in such alleged behavior, he is certainly subject to the media’s scrutiny. It is not the media’s job to present O’Connell’s defense or serve as his character witness-“All the facts"as you say. That is the job of O’Connell’s attorney. O’Connell’s good deeds do not mitigate these charges or the facts of the case. Are we to just wink because in some areas of his job the officer was exemplary? No, my friend, you have missed the point. The officer will have his day in court. In the meantime it is the media’s job to investigate and address issues related to the charges. That’s the system and New Haven Independent is applauded for doing a great job. I rest my case.

posted by: noah on January 10, 2011 7:39pm hi Mrs. Melinda it’s me your former Ico students and i think that the guy was wrong for stabbing the policeman while handcuffing him. Mrs. Melinda i read only your artical and i think there great keep up the good work

posted by: boss on January 10, 2011 9:21pm you know it makes sick because we have ppl like this protecting our city. There is other ppl out there who is willing to be good officers and cant get a chance because of their record etc

posted by: huh? huh? on January 10, 2011 11:29pm Huh? As NHPD regularly arrest and beat up citizens for doing completely legal things like videotaping cops beating up other people I’d be surprised if anyone didn’t resist arrest. I also have a very nasty feeling that most of next year’s $50,000,000 plus budget shortfall will be due to payouts on civil rights cases.

posted by: Awesome on January 11, 2011 3:23am This officer has risked life and limb for this city. Look into his record and see how many guns and drugs he has taken off the street. 9 complaints in a 12 year career? That is not excessive. If a criminal is going for your gun, that individual MUST be put down by all means necessary. Deadly force is appropriate. If a citizen RESISTS arrest, he or she MUST be brought under control! Pushing, shoving, kicking, and punching an officer is against the law, period. I expect this officer wants to go home at the end of his shift to his family the same way he started it, healthy and alive. This article was written for sensationalism. If it were a truly neutral news piece, i should hope that the writer would list all of this officers accomidations, gun and narcotics arrests.

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 11, 2011 11:15am To Awesome: 9 complaints is not excessive? A similar M.O. seems to prevail in many of these cases (gotta love the head-butt). There should be a zero tolerance for the actions that lead to the complaints. As I stated above, an officer’s good deeds do exonerate him for the bad deeds he commits. Your argument is like a wife beater telling the judge that he is good 23 out of 24 hours- and only beats his wife occasionally. Look at the famed Narc squad detective Billy White. He took a lot of drugs off the street too. He was a good cop until he got caught breaking the law(stealing). I believe he is still in jail. It is weak and lame justification to try and shirk off the gravity of the actions this officer has repeatedly engaged in. Beating civilians to hospitalization is simply not acceptable-even if it is by an otherwise saintly cop.

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 11, 2011 1:04pm Correction to my text above: “doN’T exonerate him”

posted by: kamb on January 11, 2011 8:10pm To truth avenger,

Good thing your not in charge of the legal system! You want to have a zero tolerance for officers who get complaints against them!? A complaint does not mean your guilty! Would you throw a man I’m jail who is simply accused of wrong doing? You need to think before you post. Obviously in your world everyone is guilty till proven innocent.

posted by: Pro Police on January 12, 2011 12:11pm Do as your told and comply with the police. When you raise your hand to an officer,you deserve what’s coming….. Officers aren’t there to be abused or to get injured.

posted by: bjfair on January 12, 2011 1:33pm @Kamb, For real??people are thrown in jail ever single day simply because they were accused of wrongdoing and many actually get convicted and spend decades in prison before DNA exonerates them, many accused by officers like O’Connell who lacks scruples and supported by an unethical union boss.NHPD has had their share of crooked cops including one Billy White who will be released from prison soon and receive a $94,000 pension to live off. so please. Awards? Officer Elliot Rosa who shot and killed an elderly man at close range within less than 4 days on the job recently received an award. Should he be proud? ...

posted by: Truth Avenger on January 12, 2011 1:44pm Nice Try Kamb. Read my previous post. The Officer will have his day in court- which is more than we can say for the victims of his on-the-spot justice in deciding just how much they get assaulted- as he makes his arrests. The “zero tolerance” policy I proposed is for officers who have been proven to have engaged in excessive force- aka Police brutality. Why give an officer up to 9 opportunities to continue hurting people who have not had THEIR day in court. If you read the specifics of the charges, the abuses do not fall within the scope of protocols police are required to follow.

...

posted by: kamb on January 12, 2011 4:14pm To BJFair,

You need to BeReal. Check the statistics. It is less than 1% of people who are wrongfully convicted and released from jail due to DNA. Not a bad system and the best one we have. ...You have an agenda to slam the police any chance you get. And to Truth Avenger,

...Its easy to complain and make excuses for not obeying the law. Our cops in New Haven are the best.

posted by: sepblues on January 12, 2011 11:30pm KAMB: You said erroneously “...Its easy to complain and make excuses for not obeying the law.” I did not make excuses for not obeying the law anywhere. I am advocating for complete compliance with the law- it is just your failure to understand and recognize that compliance of the law also extends to those enforcing the laws- the Police themselves, not just to suspects.

posted by: bjfair on January 13, 2011 1:09am Kamb, US justice a great system? Really? Would you like to be among that 1% who spent decades in prison wrongfully accused and convicted? You say I “have an agenda” to slam the police”. Take notice of the numerous posts.They didn’t all come from me. You seem to have an agenda to slam me instead of disproving anything I said. It is obvious OConnell is an animal and head butting is his mo. Billy White and his followers were also innocent until they got caught up in their own game… decades of crime. My agenda is to rid the department of thugs with badges and random drug testing for those who seem to display abusive and violent behavior. I know for a fact that there are a lot of officers embarrassed by the bad apples among them but the brotherhood and “no snitch” rule won’t allow them to speak out.Unfotunately “rotten apples” tarnish the entire department and those wonderful offficers deserving of respect are unduly disgraced.