Hartford Police Union Gives Its Side Of the Nappier Story
The state treasurer was stopped last week in her state vehicle
State prosecutors and Hartford Police say there was no basis for the motor vehicle charges filed against state State Treasurer Denise Nappier last week that resulted in her car being towed after a traffic stop. But as WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, Hartford Police Union officials say its officers did nothing wrong.
Nappier told the Hartford Courant that she had dropped off a friend when police stopped her. And she questioned whether being black, in a black car, in a black neighborhood may have made police suspicious. But, according to the police union, there's more to the story.
Officers were dispatched to 385 Barbour Street for an emergency call. They didn't know the nature of the call, but they may have known this:
"385 Barbour Street is a well-known narcotics outlet, it's a high-crime area, if you would."
That's Officer Nazario Figueroa, vice president of the Hartford Police Union. He says that two officers were called to the address. A third officer, a female, joined them and saw Nappier's car -- which she had seen before.
"The car is going into this area where we have an unspecified incident call. Most officers need to think out of the box. So she may be thinking maybe this vehicle is related to that call. She's always thought it was kind of suspicious that the car kind of stuck out. So she runs the plate and nothing came back for the plates."
After it became clear that Nappier's state car had issues with its registration and paperwork, officers on the scene decided to issue her a summons and tell her she couldn't drive away in what appeared to be an unregistered vehicle .
"They wouldn't do it for anyone else, quite simply. You can't just let somebody drive away in an unregistered car."
And while Nappier told the Courant she walked three miles home because she didn't want to call anyone, the union says the officers gave her another option.
"There was three officers there, they each had offered her a ride to get home and she declined."
Nappier's office did not respond to an email seeking comment. And while Figueroa says the incident could have played out differently, he also says that the officer involved did her job and is likely going to get punished for it.
Hartford Police Chief Daryl Roberts says he is investigating and that the officer has been reassigned.
For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.
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So, Capen Street
I want to know what shoes the state treasurer was wearing, that she could hoof it across the city. When I go to that neighborhood in my Lexus it is to go to a church. It would seem that police would find suspicious a white guy driving in that neighborhood in a pretty good car, but I have never been stopped. Instead they pull over a black woman driving a, what was it, a Ford Crown Victoria? What drug transport or transaction occurs with a police car look alike?
Rather than DWB it appears to be a minor incident of DWPAS - 'driving while the police act silly'.
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Hmmm. If I were a cop and
Hmmm. If I were a cop and saw a Crown Vic in a drug-infested neighborhood, I'd think it was being driven by another cop.
Ms. Nappier obviously had to show her driver's license. Can you imagine any cop in the state capitol (let alone THREE) being so stupid as to not recognize a constitutional officer? Can you imagine a constitutional officer not telling the cops who she was? Not calling their boss? Not calling somebody for a ride home?
they stopped her because when
they stopped her because when they ran the plate it came back as unregistered. They were doing their job.
Calls and Stories
unspecified 911 call so you stop the shiny car in the parking lot? glad Momma was not having a coronary in an apartment! unspecified 911 call so you stop the shiny car in the parking lot? because it is typical for North End residents to call 911 to report the (all too common) drug activity? you stopped the car because you had not seen it before. you stopped the car because you had seen it before. what will the HPD Union spinmasters come up with tomorrow? I am a proud public employee union member. Your mindless defense of bad judgment embarrasses me. This incident makes me worried for my freedom. East Haven tactics used in Hartford for no good reason. How many deals went down before the tow truck came and went?
Why did Nappier have a friend
Why did Nappier have a friend as a passenger in a state vehicle? Is that SOP? Had the vehicle been involved in a collision and the friend/passenger been injured, then he/she would seek liability compensation from the state insurance carrier???
Ms nappier should be ashamed
Ms nappier should be ashamed of herself. she thinks she is above the law. she is not. i feel sorry for the police officer who now had to be reassigned for merely doing her job. this whole situation is an outrage and I hope that the police union stand up for that officer. these elected officials have such inflated opinions of themselves.
There are laws to follow, and ms nappier needs to follow them as well.
I have lost all respect for her.
The incident should not have been handled differently.
Nappier is not above thelaw, what happened to her, is what would happen to anyone of us. She lied about why she had to walk home. I don't trust anything coming out of this woman's mouth.
Instead of the officer being investigated and reassigned, Nappier should be investigated and resign!
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