A review of the Hartford Police Department’s internal affairs division casts a pall on the reputation of retiring Chief Daryl K. Roberts.
The chief let a management problem get out of hand, leading to an “overwhelming atmosphere of paranoia and mistrust that has permeated throughout the … department,” said former Hartford officer Frank Rudewicz, now a lawyer and private investigator, in his review.
The internal affairs division deals with citizen complaints against officers, and it reports directly to the chief. It is a difficult job in most departments. For at least two years, high-ranking officers had complained that the division’s commander, Lt. Neville Brooks, was making a hash of it.
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This came to a head early this year when Lt. Brooks called four deputy or assistant chiefs in for questioning in four separate investigations in which each was only peripherally involved, and then the lieutenant was transferred. Mayor Pedro Segarra ordered the investigation in May to review the internal affairs operations and determine if Lt. Brooks had unfairly targeted the chiefs, or if they had unfairly retaliated against him. Mr. Rudewicz’s answer in each case was no.
But he concluded that Lt. Brooks should have been removed years earlier. “During the past several years, management oversight of the IAD was lax and at times nonexistent … Our review found missing files, incomplete cases, sporadic attendance, missed deadlines and a number of incidents of noncompliance,” the report says.
Complaints are supposed to be investigated within 60 days. The review this summer found 33 complaints from 2009 still open, with seven files missing. Also, Lt. Brooks’ attendance in the internal affairs office was irregular.
The buck stops at the chief’s desk. “Management of the IAD is the direct responsibility of the commander and his direct supervisor, Chief Roberts,” the report said. Mr. Roberts knew of serious problems with internal affairs as early as 2009, but kept Lt. Brooks on the job, leading to the suspicion that he was protecting him.
The new commander has straightened out many of the problems; Mr. Rudewicz has made several strong recommendations to further strengthen the division.
Large police departments are almost always a challenge for managers; there are passions and intrigues, union issues, differing views on how the job should be done. The department has to run on clear, reasonable, transparent rules and procedures; the chief has to intervene when there is a serious problem. Mr. Roberts did some good things as chief; this wasn’t one of them.
