Mayor Drew Responds to Calls for Police Reforms

The Greater Middletown Young Democrats emailed the Mayor, Common Council, and the Chief of Police last week, calling for greater transparency in the investigation into Sergeant Bartolotta, who shared racist and misogynist messages on Facebook, and for reforms to address bias, promote diversity in hiring, and improve community policing. 
Diana Martinez is the co-president of GMYD, Mayor Drew responded to her by email, and posted his response on Facebook.
------------------------
Dear Ms. Martinez,

Thank you for your letter.

We would like to use this opportunity to address your questions and to share with you – and the public – context that is relevant in terms of reforms and greater accountability that have taken place within the Middletown Police Department over the past several years.

We would like to re-iterate that what the public saw in the posts that came to light last week are not indicative of the interactions the Middletown Police Department have with our community.



Since taking over together in late 2011, Chief McKenna and I have instituted significant reforms at the police department – several of which overlap with the requests in your March 26 letter.

Your letter stated that Sgt. Bartolotta being “in a position of leadership implies to less experienced officers that they too can participate in hateful, disrespectful rhetoric at the expense of people whose taxes pay their salaries, and still expect to be promoted.”

We have consistently held accountable officers whose conduct or performance were inadequate and will continue to do so when it is warranted. A larger culture of accountability exists in the department now, which did not before.

Our officers see these changes in our culture. Since late 2011 we have strictly enforced our codes of conduct and general orders. Several officers have been disciplined to include termination, demotion, unpaid suspension, and other forms of corrective action; this has been the case for officers at every level of the command structure – from probationary patrol officers to the former acting chief. The circumstances vary on a case-by-case basis and the decisions in each case are guided by the Municipal Employee Relations Act (CGS 7-467), the City of Middletown’s charter, personnel rules, the collective bargaining agreement with Middletown Police AFSCME Local 1361 (available on the city’s web site), city policies, MPD general orders, and the precedents set by the U.S. Supreme Court in Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill.

Your letter stated a belief that the Human Relations Commission should be involved in reviews of officers facing discipline. The HRC, as with all committees and commissions, are advisory in nature. They exist to provide the community with a formal vehicle to exercise its voice and to provide elected policymakers with input for consideration in broader policy discussions. They are not an elected body directly accountable to the public charged with decision-making authority nor would the policies, statutes, and contracts listed above enable or allow their direct involvement.

Chief McKenna and I have emphasized greater cultural and ethnic understanding and have geared significant training resources toward these goals.

Since 2011 we have provided our officers with diversity training, sexual harassment training beyond what is required by law, de-escalation training, and LGBTQ sensitivity training. Each officer (up to and including the chief of police) also receives anti-bias training as part of their recertification with the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council. In addition to these measures, we regularly send our officers to trainings available outside the department and we host frequent trainings in-house as well.

We have also already made civilian reporting easier and more robust because doing so is necessary for an accountable police department. When Chief McKenna and I took over in 2011 there was a policy in place that required a civilian to come into the MPD to request a civilian complaint form, which they had to put into writing, swear to, and have notarized. We changed the policy so that complaints could be submitted in any form and civilian complaint forms were made available years ago in both English and Spanish. They are and have been available on the city and MPD web site and in person in both languages in my office, at the MPD, and at the Russell Library. We also now accept anonymous complaints.

We have also increased outreach to community groups in recent years to foster an open dialogue about community policing and how and why we patrol the city in different ways. These conversations have been with the NAACP, Ministerial Alliance, and neighborhood groups. The chief, his command staff, and I have all been a part of these conversations throughout the years.

We have increased community policing in different neighborhoods throughout the city both as a general approach and in specific response to neighborhoods that have experienced higher levels of crime. Our response to the multitude of problems at Wharfside Commons was a model of successful community policing. The area, which had experienced significant high crime statistics, saw those rates drop in large part due to community policing efforts. The MPD was recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice for its efforts in that neighborhood.

Community policing is an executive function – not a legislative one – and there is no plan put forth by the Common Council, nor should there be. Community policing needs, strategies, and resources shift as circumstances warrant and are up to the chief and to me as Mayor. We consult and communicate with community groups regularly as I mentioned above.

We have also increased efforts to diversify our police force. We organized an effort several years ago with our H.R. Department, our Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, and the MPD to more proactively recruit people into the police department from underrepresented communities. We now regularly visit colleges, job fairs, the Chamber of Commerce Expo and advertise in dozens of publications including the Minority News as well as sending recruitment notices to churches, community groups, minority-owned businesses, employment firms, and other community sources. The number of minorities applying and hired have gone up in recent years though this is a slow and systematically difficult effort. It is one, however, that we set as a priority many years ago and at which we continue to work hard.

I recently requested updated data from the city’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and below is what I received on Wednesday of this week regarding our sworn officers:

Middletown Police Department Current Workforce Data - 2019:
Total Workforce Employees: 128
Total % Minority Employees: 18 (14% of total Workforce)
Total # Women Employees: 18 (14% of total Workforce)
Overall # Minority/Women: 36 (28% of total Workforce

Middletown Police Department Federal EEO Reported Workforce Data - 2017:
Total Workforce Employees: 126
Total % Minority Employees: 18 (14% of total Workforce)
Total # Women Employees: 20 (16% of total Workforce)
Overall # Minority/Women: 38 (30% of total Workforce)

It should be noted that the Middletown Police Department has consistently maintained a diverse workforce even with retirements and resignations.

The Middletown Police Department has made enormous gains in accountability and efficacy in recent years. In addition to the accountability measures and expanded hiring, our department’s insurance claims have dropped precipitously, and crime is dropping here as well. I am proud – and the community is proud – of the work the men and women of our police department do every day. Every human enterprise must be cognizant of the fact that it always has room to improve and Chief McKenna and I work hard with our officers every day to ensure that we are always advancing.

We will continue to have a professional and accountable police department and will build such an organization within the boundaries of the law, our founding documents, contracts, and conduct rooted in morality.

Sincerely,

Daniel T. Drew
MAYOR