Good Cop, Bad Cop Bills Protect, Punish

Hartford — Should the state get tougher on rogue cops? Or on people who hate cops?

State legislators took up those questions Tuesday, with key players from New Haven on both sides.

These thorny questions put New Haveners on both sides of these issues Tuesday during public hearings held by the state legislature’s Public Safety and Security and Labor and Public Employees Committees.

The committees held public hearings proposals to immediately suspend cops without pay if they’re accused of wrongdoing; to take away their jobs and pensions if they’re convicted of a crime; or to create a new hate crime category to include bias acts against police officers.

Democratic New Haven State Rep. Robyn Porter found herself pushing back against special protections for police officers and other public safety personnel, while simultaneously pushing for the tougher measures for cops accused and ultimately convicted of crimes.

On the defense was New Haven’s police union, pushing back against two tough-on-cops bills, including one sponsored by Porter, citing its own strict departmental guidelines and the state’s already existing investigative process.

Bad Cop

Porter is the sponsor of House Bill 6663, which she said would increase accountability for officers and provide consequences for those who use excessive force. State Rep. Josh Elliot of Hamden is a co-sponsor. The bill would require that an officer who has used excessive force to be immediately suspended without pay. And an officer who ultimately is convicted, pleads guilty, or no contest to a crime, would be automatically terminated.

Another bill, House Bill 6662, that was heard by the Labor Committee along with Porter’s bill, is sponsored by State Rep. Minnie Gonzalez of Hartford. It would revoke the pension of an officer who is convicted of a crime.

The bills grew out of the legislature’s Black and Hispanic Caucus’s general concern over incidents of excessive force, and in particular, over a recent case where a now-former Hartford police sergeant was video-recorded kicking a handcuffed man. (Read more about that here.) During the investigation of the incident the officer was allowed to retire and draw his annual pension of $129,977.

When she learned that an officer could retire with six figures under the cloud of an investigation that includes as evidence a video of him kicking someone, Gonzalez concluded that she was in the wrong business.

“Police officers are not above the law,” she said. ​“We’re not taking anything away from the ones who respect the law.”

Porter said she believes that good cops should have no problems with either her or Gonzalez’s bills. She said rogue actors exist in every profession, including the profession of policing. She said the only way to often get the attention of such people is to ​“hit them in the pocket.”

“It’s unfortunate that we have to do that,” she said. ​“But to whom much power is given, much is required. And we have to have a higher level of accountability for those who abuse their power.”

ACLU of Connecticut Executive Director David McGuire testified in support of both Gonzalez’s and Porter’s bills. He argued that other accountability measures passed in the last few years simply haven’t deterred bad cops. He pointed to a body camera bill that set aside $10 million to help outfit departments with the technology. Less than a million of those dollars have been used, McGuire said. 

The state has a law on the books that grew out of the prosecution and conviction of former Gov. John Rowland that allows for the revocation or reduction of public officials, state or municipal employees pensions if they are convicted of a crime but it does not apply to police officers, McGuire said. He also said there is no regulatory authority that revokes the license of a police officer — to which New Haven Police Union attorney Marshall Segar cried, ​“Foul!”

Segar said the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, also known as POST, maintains a list of decertified police officers who have had their certifications cancelled or revoked after they had been convicted of a crime.

“It’s difficult for us to testify against Rep. Porter’s bill because it’s going to be made into ​‘We condone police misconduct,’” he said. But Segar said that is far from the truth for not just New Haven police officers but for police officers statewide. That said, the union finds the proposed language of Porter’s bill, problematic.

Segar said there is a process in place in the state to investigate incidents of misconduct. He said that process should take its course before someone is suspended without pay and terminated. He also said the Rowland law that McGuire referenced outlines the circumstances and the crimes under which a pension can be revoked, and Gonzalez’s bill is not consistent with that statute. (Read this legislative research report that details the structure of the current law.)

New Haven Police Union President Craig Miller showed up to testify against the bills. He argued that through collective bargaining, which was a hot topic in the Labor Committee Tuesday, the Board of Police Commissioners has the right to revoke or reduce the pension of an officer who is convicted, pleads guilty or no contest to the crime of fraud, or commits and act of dishonesty.

Good Cop

GOP lawmakers are the main backers behind a bill that would add public safety personnel to a law that already makes it a crime to intimidate or harass a person because of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

House Minority Leader State Rep. Themis Klarides of Seymour testified Tuesday that House Bill 6258 responds to recent incidents of public safety personnel, particularly police officers, being targeted because of their job.

Though overall killings of police officers nationwide are down, there were 21 ambush killings of officers in 2016, according to data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Hartford Police Union President Sgt. John Szewczyk testified before the Public Safety Committee Tuesday in favor of the bill. He said it would send a positive message to police officers that the state will not tolerate police officers being targets of hate. He also said that it would be a positive recruiting message to would-be officers.

“It’s a difficult atmosphere, certainly,” he said of recruitment. Szewczyk said that his general belief is that most people are supportive of the police, and that there is a small element that is anti-police. ​“It’s difficult, but we serve a great community. This would send a message to that small element.”

State Rep. Porter said she is getting a different message from people she talked to about the bill, including New Haven Interim Chief Anthony Campbell, along with firefighters, who also would be protected under the bill, and other police officers. She said she’s hearing that people consider the bill overkill.

“This is a bad bill which will disproportionately impact communities of color that are already over-policed and under protected,” she wrote in testimony she had read into the record. (Porter was tied up in a Labor Committee meeting that was debating whether to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 at the time of the public safety hearing.)

Porter shared concerns identified to her by officers of color with whom she spoke. They suggested that the bill could lead to an increase in racial profiling and voter suppression. A person who is arrested and convicted under this proposed law could face from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony, which can carry up to 10 years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $10,000. She said the law is also unnecessary because there are already laws that enhance penalties for assaulting public safety employees. Felony convictions can cost you the right to vote.

“Being a police officer, firefighter or emergency medical technician is not an innate part of a person’s identity,” she wrote. ​“People are not born public safety employees; people choose these professions and in doing so, they willingly agree to take on the heightened risks that come with these jobs.”

Following is a status report on bills of particular interest to New Haven before the state legislature this session:

The 2017 Agenda

Bill #	Status	Summary	Sponsors
SB11/ HB5539	Committee Denied	Would legalize, tax recreational use of marijuana.	Candelaria Dillon Lemar Walker Porter et al
SB 17	Committee Approved	Would make certain undocumented immigrant students (DREAMers) eligible for state college financial aid.	Looney
HB 5434	Committee Approved	Would have CT join with other states to elect the President based on popular, rather than Electoral College, vote.	Winfield, Porter Albis Elliott D’Agostino et al.
HB 5458, HB 6058	Committee Approved	Would establish electronic tolls on state highways.	Genga
HB 5575/HB 7126	Passed Senate	Would regulate companies such as Uber and Lyft.	Scanlon
HB 5589	Passed House	Would expand disclosure requirements for contributions to campaign funds.	Dillon Lemar D’Agostino Elliott et al.
HB 5591	Passed House	Would require equal pay for employees doing comparable work.	Dillon Walker Lemar Albis D’Agostino Elliott et al.
HB 5703	Committee Denied	Would have CT enter into an agreement with other states to limit ​“poaching” of each other’s businesses.	Lemar
HJ 13/HJr 95	Passed House	Would amend the state constitution to permit early voting.	Lemar
HJ 16	In Commitee	Would amend the state constitution to permit absentee voting for all voters.	Lemar
SB 1/HB 6212	Committee Approved	Would require employers to provide paid family and medical leave for their employees.	Looney
SB 2	Committee Approved	Would make the education funding formula more equitable.	Duff
SB 8	Committee Denied	Would allow municipalities to adopt a 0.5% sales tax.	Looney
SB 10/HB 5743	Passed Senate	Would strengthen hate crime laws.	Winfield
SB 13/HB 6208/HB 6456	Committee Approved	Would increase the minimum wage.	Looney Winfield et al. Albis Candelaria D’Agostino Elliott Lemar Paolillo Porter Walker
SB 137	Committee Denied	Would expand birth-to-three and provide universal pre-school, among other things.	Gerratana
SJ 5/HJ 1	Passed House	Would amend the state constitution to create a ​“lock-box” for transportation funding.	Duff
HB 5588	Committee Denied	Would limit certain bond allocations.	Dillon Lemar Albis Walker Elliott et al.
HB 5912HB 6127	Committee Denied	Would establish a 1‑cent/ounce tax on sugared beverages.	Lemar Elliott et al.
HB 6554	Committee Denied	Would tax carried interest as ordinary income.	Porter Albis Lemar Elliott Winfield Candelaria Dillon D’Agostino et al.
HB 5831	Committee Denied	Would provide bonding for transitional housing for NH female ex- offenders.	Porter Candelaria Lemar Winfield Looney Paolillo
SB 631	Committee Denied	Would provide bonding to make structural improvements to the Shubert Theatre.	Winfield Looney Walker Porter Lemar Candelaria Paolillo
HB 6863	Committee Denied	Would authorize bonds for renovating the Barbell Club as a youth/ community center.	Canelaria Porter Paolillo Lemar Winfield
SB 649	Committee Approved	Would allow local building officials to impose fines for building w/o a permit.	Looney Winfield Walker Candelaria Lemar Porter Paolillo Et al.
SB 590/591	Committee Denied	Would limit police ccoperation w/Immigration and Customs Enforcement (590); establish an immigrant’s bill of rights	Winfield
SB 20	Committee Denied	Would require affordability to be considered in reviewing proposed health insurance rate hikes.	Looney
HB 6352	Committee Approved	Would establish a deposit system for car tires.	Ritter Gresko McCrory
HB 6901	Committee Denied	Would impose a surtax on large employers that pay an average wage less than $15/hour.	Elliott
HB 7278	Passed Senate	Would convey various parcels to New Haven, among other things.	Gov’t Administration and Elections