HARTFORD – At least one employee of the Hartford Police Department shot and killed a person last night. The following is a reaction from ACLU of Connecticut executive director David McGuire:
“Police have killed another person in Connecticut, and once again, the public is struggling for information because police refuse to provide it. It is well within the City of Hartford’s power to immediately, publicly release the body camera footage and names of the city police employee or employees who shot and killed someone last night, and we call on the City to do so. Prosecutors and the state police can release footage and information, but so can the Hartford Police Department. This is not the first time Hartford’s Mayor and the Hartford Police Department have attempted to give lip service to transparency without walking the walk. It is deeply problematic that Mayor Bronin and Interim Chief Thody have seen footage from last night, but not the people they are responsible for serving. Press conferences sharing the government’s side of a story are not the same thing as government transparency. No one should die at the hands of police, and until Hartford’s Mayor and Police Department begin to take accountability and transparency seriously, it will happen again.”
Earlier this year, the Connecticut General Assembly passed, and Governor Ned Lamont signed into law, legislation requiring police to publicly release body camera and dashboard camera recordings, upon request from a member of the public, within 96 hours after a police employee uses force against a person or if the police employee is under disciplinary investigation for the recorded incident. Existing state law would protect the privacy of bystanders recorded in this footage. The law goes into effect on October 1, 2019.
To access this statement online: https://www.acluct.org/en/press-releases/statement-regarding-hartford-police-shooting-and-killing-person-i-84
For additional information about the forthcoming transparency law: https://www.acluct.org/en/press-releases/aclu-connecticut-reaction-connecticut-general-assembly-passage-police-transparency
