Police Department
Monthly Report
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Police Department |
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James L. Cetran
Chief of Police
On Saturday, June 16, 2007 approximately 2:30 AM an officer was dispatched to Wilcox Street on the report of an evading motor vehicle accident. While one officer was investigating this accident, another officer spotted the vehicle that had evaded from the scene. The officer saw this car parked on Nott Street. As the officer pulled in behind this vehicle, the vehicle operator started the vehicle and drove away from the officer. The vehicle attempted to turn onto Garden Street while driving away from the officer. The vehicle left the roadway and struck a telephone pole causing it to break in half. The operator then abandoned the vehicle and ran away from the car. The officer followed the male and chased after him on foot. A second officer arrived and soon the male operator was taken into custody. The 17-year-old driver was charged with taking a motor vehicle without permission, DWI, Engaging Police in Pursuit, and several other motor vehicle violations.
On Wednesday, June 27, 2007 approximately 1:10 AM an officer saw a vehicle traveling at a speed in excess of the posted speed limit on the Berlin Turnpike. As the officer moved to catch up to this vehicle, he saw that it quickly turned onto Jordan Lane and then pulled into the Stop & Shop plaza, pulling behind the buildings. The officer located the vehicle in the rear of the plaza and saw two males running from the vehicle. A check with dispatch showed that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Hartford. The passenger from the stolen vehicle was quickly located and placed under arrest. Officers searched the area but could not locate the driver. A Wethersfield Volunteer Firefighter had heard the officers searching for the suspect on his fire radio. As he was traveling near Ridge Road and Jordan Lane, the firefighter noticed a male matching the suspect description and called it in to police dispatch. Officers stopped this male who was later identified as the driver of the stolen vehicle. Both the passenger and driver, who had lengthy criminal records, were arrested for being in a stolen vehicle.
During June, 2007 members of the Detective Bureau initiated or were assigned follow up to eighteen new cases. Major case investigations include two robberies, six fraud cases, one burglary, two forgeries and three larceny cases.
On June 16, 2007 members of the Detective Bureau, Patrol Division and Mid-State Narcotics Unit conducted a weapons sting. As a result of this sting, the Department arrested seven individuals for attempting to illegally purchase firearms. One individual was already in possession of a stolen handgun, crack cocaine and a large quantity of U.S. currency. These arrests were the culmination of a lengthy investigation.
On June 22, 2007 the Department responded to a reported armed robbery at a local motel located on the Silas Deane Highway. It was reported that two dark skinned males entered the main office, brandished a handgun and made off with an undetermined amount of cash. There were no reported injuries in the incident.
In June, 2007, the School Resource Officer (SRO) investigated ten complaints resulting in nine initial and one supplemental case report. These cases included four larcenies. Two of the larcenies were committed by one WHS student. (See Juvenile Unit Report)
Other cases included a burglary, voyeurism/suspicious person, simple trespass and a missing persons complaint. The SRO also handled a medical complaint involving a student during school hours. The SRO attended both the Senior Class Picnic and the Senior Prom. On June 21, 2007 the SRO attended the WHS graduation in which there were no incidents reported.
During June, 2007 the SRO also instructed three Civics classes discussing the law and its relevance to the students. During these classes, the SRO answered questions and facilitated discussions regarding criminal law and its impact on the students. Finally, the SRO also attended STAR and Security Committee meetings.
The Wethersfield Police Department Juvenile Unit handled twelve incidents involving approximately thirteen juveniles. In these incidents, two juveniles were arrested for criminal violations while the remainder of these juveniles were diverted to their parents or school authorities without any further police investigation.
In June, 2007 the Juvenile Unit investigated a complaint involving recent thefts that had occurred at the Wethersfield High School. With the aid of the School's video security system, suspects were identified leading to arrests and the recovery of two of the stolen items including an iPod. In addition, a search of one of the involved juveniles led to the recovery of another stolen item, reported stolen in January, 2007.
In June, 2007 the Wethersfield Police Explorers had two meetings. The first meeting involved an introduction to SWAT tactics with the second meeting involving the use of the Firearms Training Simulator (FATS).
During the week of June 18, 2007 the Explorers assisted in the parking operations for the Travelers Championship at the TPC in Cromwell, CT. The Explorers were responsible for on site traffic direction, collection of parking fees as well as the actual parking of vehicles. The Explorers did an excellent job maintaining a high level of professionalism as well as dealing with the largest attendance the Tournament has had in the past five years.
During the month of June, 2007 Wethersfield Communications Unit personnel received and handled 898 E-911 emergency phone calls. The dispatchers dispatched the Wethersfield Volunteer Ambulance and Aetna Ambulance to a total of 245 medical emergencies.
During June, 2007, twenty-five persons were taken into custody and held requiring 480 hours of incarceration. Of the persons held, nine were arrested by warrant. Support Services personnel transported twenty-five prisoners to court to include twenty-one males and four females. The nine females incarcerated required eighty-one hours of matron coverage.
On Monday, June 4, 2007 members of the Capitol Region Emergency Services Team (CREST) began attending an annual five-day training session. An additional officer, a CREST negotiator, also trained during a practical exercise which was held Tuesday, June 5, 2007.
On Tuesday, June 12, 2007 a canine officer along with his canine, Hunter, attended a one day training class entitled "Police Canine/ Police Canine Handler Training." The canine officer and Hunter participated in this monthly canine training with several other area law enforcement canine teams. Training included evidence recovery and tracking.
On Friday, June 15, 2007 a WPD officer attended a one day training class entitled "Response to the Active Shooter or Aggressive Subject." This course was held at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden, CT. Training included classroom instruction, simulated situations and live fire exercises regarding active shooters in schools or other public buildings. Objectives included assessment of situations, entry teams, safe weapon handling and search/arrest techniques.
On Monday, June 18, 2007 the Department Training Sergeant began attending a one week training class entitled "Instructor Development." This training was sponsored by the Capital Region Chiefs of Police and held at the Farmington Police Department, Farmington, CT. This class is required by POSTC for an officer to become a certified training instructor. The Department Training Sergeant previously attended a Taser Instructor course.
On Monday, June 25, 2007 two WPD officers attended a one day training class entitled "Police Motorcycle Operator Training." Training was sponsored by the Hartford Police Department and held at the Connecticut Expo Center, Hartford, CT. Course objectives include operating the police motorcycles through obstacle courses, city roads and highways.
On Monday, June 18, 2007 through Thursday, June 28, 2007 forty-two members of the Department completed a one-hour training class using the Firearms Training Simulator (FATS). The simulator, which is owned by the Connecticut Police Academy, is a valuable training tool which enables an instructor to evaluate the decision making skills of officers in escalating/ de-escalating use of force situations. Officers are exposed to deadly force situations, use of force and non-force (verbal/ presence) situations in which officers must decide the appropriate level of force to use in the situation. Officers are exposed to several situations on an individual basis.
During the week of July 22, 2007 ten Wethersfield Police Explorers will be participating in the Connecticut Police Explorers Academy at Eastern Connecticut University. In addition to the Wethersfield Police Explorers, several Wethersfield Police Officers will be participating as Explorer Academy Director, Phase Director and Drill Instructor.
The newly appointed Department Accreditation Manager is scheduled to attend the C.A.L.E.A. summer conference July 25 - 28, 2007. This conference is a four-day training seminar in Montreal, Quebec. This conference will disseminate a basic level of information and training to assist the accreditation manager with his duties of accreditation on a statewide and national level.
The following are the burglary and robbery statistics for the month of June, 2007 along with comparative statistics for the same period of last year. The figures in the parenthesis represent the number of cases cleared by arrest or in which the perpetrators have been identified.
| Criminal Activity | June 2006 | June 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Burglaries | 4 (0) | 1 (0) |
| Commercial Burglaries | 1 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Armed Robberies | 0 (0) | 2 (0) |
| Strong-arm Robberies | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
