CT police chief under fire from union, blamed for exodus of officers

Members of the Hartford Police Union have filed a grievance against the city and Chief of Police Jason Thody, saying they are “disgusted” with a mandate requiring officers to work on their regular days off.In a highly critical statement put out Tuesday, union members said “Chief Thody must go!” alleging that officers under his leadership have experienced low morale that is “severely affecting quality of life” in the department. Further, the union alleges that under Thody’s leadership, there has been a significant exodus of officers from the Hartford Police Department.“This attrition has resulted in a severe staffing shortage, overburdened divisions, excessive caseloads for detectives, and delayed response times, leaving the Hartford community underserved,” the statement says.The mandate requiring officers to work on their regular days off was put in place back in 2021. The policy was originally proposed as a 90-day trial, but the union alleges this practice has continued for nearly three years as recruitment issues continue to plague the department.The union said that a hearing on the issue was initially set for April 24, but was rescheduled to June 6, at the request of Chief Thody and the city, with the union’s agreement. However, Chief Thody reportedly again requested to reschedule the meeting without providing a reason, which the union opposed. The hearing was postponed to July 31, without union consent, according to the statement.“Officers will be forced to work on their days off for the rest of the summer because Chief Thody chose to attend a graduation at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, neglecting his leadership responsibilities and obligation to appear at the hearing,” according to the statement.In a statement put out by Mayor Arunan Arulampalam’s office, the city said that improving staffing levels at the police department remains a top priority.“One of Mayor Arulampalam’s budget priorities was maintaining and improving staffing levels within our police department, and we will continue working with HPD to achieve that goal and allow the department to utilize officer resources in the best service of strengthening our public safety,” said Cristian Corza, deputy chief of staff for the mayor.Like cities across the country, Hartford’s police roster has been in trouble since 2020. Retirements and resignations rose after the wave of anti-police sentiment following the George Floyd murder in Minneapolis, and it has become harder to attract recruits to fill those jobs.The department is authorized to have 463 sworn personnel, but due to resignations and retirements, the department has 372 officers with 14 currently enrolled in police academy, according to Lt. Aaron Boisvert, department spokesperson. The department, which is 108 officers short of full staffing, continues to struggle with recruitment.Thody, who announced earlier this year he will be stepping down as police chief, is among those leaving the department this year. Thody was appointed chief in 2020 during the height of the pandemic and has acknowledged several challenges during his tenure, including waves of violent crime and staffing shortages.Contentious battles with the police union are also nothing new.In June 2021, early on in Thody’s tenure, a majority of Hartford police officers voted to support a vote of no confidence in him, citing concerns over workloads and discipline. Thody said it was a symptom of the pandemic and racial reckoning that had drained staffing levels and then-Mayor Luke Bronin voiced his full support for the chief’s leadership.Now as the city looks for a new police chief, the department also is looking to hire 50 new officers. Thody said the department is actively trying to fill slots for 25 new police recruits for this fall and an additional 25 recruits next year.“To be honest, we’re looking to fill as many slots as we can,” Thody said during a budget hearing before city council back in April. “As I go all the way back to 2016, we’ve never had a class of 25. Our goal is to hit that number, but the short answer is that’s an estimate and a wishful one.”The starting salary for a new police officer in Hartford is approximately $63,000, according to an application online. But many officers make far more than that because of overtime pay, a large driver of department expenses. In Hartford, $2.2 million or 44% of the department’s overtime budget is driven by vacancies alone, according to the department. Out of 84 total shifts per day, around 28 are filled through overtime, Thody said at the budget hearing.Mike Lawlor, associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, said that cities across Connecticut are dealing with similar issues to Hartford. Lawlor said that cities typically offer lower salaries and less lucrative contracts than suburban police departments, meaning more officers leaving after just a few years on the job.“There’s a lot of mandatory over time, and that’s why you see some of these salaries of rank and file police officers at a couple hundred thousand dollars per year, but there’s nothing good about this,” Lawlor said. “A lot of these cities have the budgets to hire more officers, but it’s hard to get qualified people and then a lot of them leave after a couple years to go to other places. It’s both a recruitment and attrition issue.”Lawlor said the stress police officers are under working long hours with little sleep can impact their interactions in the community.“It’s not good for being a healthy person, you see a lot of alcoholism and depression among police officers,” Lawlor said. “It’s not just a morale problem, it’s a mental health problem. These are real problems that need to be addressed.”Thody could not be reached for comment.Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com

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