EAST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A federal report says East Haven has made “remarkable” progress in the year since Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. signed a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice requiring changes in the Police Department to ensure an end to bias.
The New Haven Register reports (https://bit.ly/LBsFss ) that the 94-page federal review commends the commitment of Police Chief Brent Larrabee and his management team. It cites the work of Lt. Edward Lennon, the compliance officer.
“A solid foundation has been established,” the report said.
The consent decree was launched on Dec. 23, 2012. The 365-day compliance report filed this past week says police have worked to revise about 85 policies.
In a letter to Dec. 19, 2011, letter to Maturo, the Department of Justice said 19.9 percent of all traffic stops conducted during a six-month period involved Latino drivers, “significantly higher” than the estimated percentage of Latino drivers in East Haven and surrounding towns, which was about 15.5 percent.
The latest data, published in the report, were collected between December 2012 and June 2013. It reports that the percentage of Latino drivers stopped fell to 8.9 percent.
Four white police officers have been convicted of violating Latinos’ civil rights and three have been sentenced. Police treatment of Latinos in East Haven has been under federal scrutiny since 2009.
The report cited one problem related to the findings of an East Haven police internal investigation that officers abused their power in investigating a misdemeanor purse snatching from an officer’s mother. The internal review said the officers improperly interrogated a pregnant woman and illegally seized items, including her purse, from her car before releasing her in a strange neighborhood with no way to get home.
The federal report says the actions “reflect the type of misconduct and poor supervision” that first prompted federal officials to intervene in East Haven.
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Information from: New Haven Register, https://www.nhregister.com
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