Tarnishing the Badge

06Dec11

THE STRATFORD VERSION!

Before we begin this sordid & corrupt little tale, some background information should be provided. At the time, we felt this would be handled appropriately and did not spend much webspace on it. How wrong we were. This is Stratford after all and “business as usual” has a different meaning here. But to begin;

No arrests planned in Stratford cop, resident clash
Brittany Lyte, Staff Writer
Updated 10:39 p.m., Wednesday, July 6, 2011

STRATFORD — The Police Department will make no arrests following the criminal investigation of an officer accused of assaulting a town resident.
Detective William Jennings, a veteran officer with 23 years on the force, was accused of assault April 18 by David Fredericks, a 39-year-old landscaping business owner, during a dispute outside Fredericks’ home on Chapel Street about 7 p.m.
Fredericks and three witnesses — his wife, one of his employees and the sister of another employee — told police Jennings refused to identify himself when he approached Fredericks on his property in plainclothes in April and demanded that Fredericks pay up money he said he owed his friend to replace a damaged tree. Jennings was screaming, swearing and threatening to “ruin” him, according to Fredericks.
Fredericks said he did not recognize Jennings and did not know anything about the debt Jennings was trying to collect from him.
Fredericks said Jennings pushed him. He said he became upset and scared, so he threatened to get a baseball bat if the stranger did not leave. Fredericks never got the bat, but called 911.
Fredericks is heard screaming and swearing repeatedly at Jennings to leave his property during several 911 calls he made at the scene during the dispute.
Fredericks’ wife, June Palatiello, said she was eating dinner when a man she did not recognize drove a silver Lexus into their driveway. She ran outside to assist her husband when she realized he did not know the man and the stranger seemed to be refusing to leave.
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/No-arrests-planned-in-Stratford-cop-resident-1455295.php#ixzz1flQdzrc7

Let’s stop there. Silver Lexus? You mean the Lexus that was stolen from Fairfield Lexus? It seems the Stratford Police Department stole that Lexus. From what we can piece together from several authoritative sources
1. The Lexus was reported stolen from Lexus of Fairfield.
2. Detective Bill Jennings working for the DEA (see above article) took possession of the car.
3. Jennings was stopped at least at least once by other law enforcement departments and it came back as reported stolen.
4. Lt. Pinto (Jennings’ supervisor)contacted dispatch and told them to send a locate on the car to Fairfield PD stating that Stratford had the car and to cancel the stolen vehicle report.
5. No notification to the insurance company was made that the Lexus had been recovered nor was it mentioned to Lexus of Fairfield.
6. Lt. Pinto claims that it was a “problem” in Wethersfield as to why the car was still reported stolen
7. Lt Pinto then registers the vehicle under a police method for undercover vehicles.
8. The insurance company pays the owner of the car.
9. Stratford PD is still in possession of the Lexus. The insurance company may be getting a little suspicious by now.
10.Jennings succumbs to an undefined illness after the article is published and has been out on sick leave since.

To the civilian observers (like us) this appears to be a case of insurance fraud at a minimum and grand theft and falsification of records plus a host of other charges at the other end. We certainly do not expect that police officers are in the business of stealing luxury cars for their on and off duty use.

Which begs the question: Who is in charge at the PD?

One answer is obvious: Lock your car doors.

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Filed under: Stratford Political Theater   |  72 Comments
Tags: Jennings, Pinto