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East Haven Police Saga

  • East Haven cops bust priest

    The Rev. James Manship will be in Superior Court this morning to answer charges that he engaged in disorderly conduct and interfered with police in East Haven, but defenders say he was arrested for videotaping a pattern of anti-Latino harassment.
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  • Priest pleads not guilty, police deny ethnic profiling

    Priest pleads not guilty, police deny ethnic profiling
    The Rev. James Manship entered a not guilty plea to misdemeanor charges in Superior Court Wednesday, and claimed his arrest is the “tip of the toxic iceberg of racial profiling in East Haven and the abuse of power by police.”
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  • Pastor’s video of E. Haven arrest far different from cop’s version

    After releasing a videotape Thursday that appears to contradict a police report on the arrest of a priest, parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven said Thursday they want a formal meeting with the East Haven mayor to address their racial profiling claims.
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  • State drops all charges against city priest

    State drops all charges against city priest
    State prosecutors dismissed all charges against the Rev. James Manship Thursday, and parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Church filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, requesting an investigation of the East Haven Police Department.
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  • Marchers protest police treatment: Peaceful event turns ugly as fight breaks out

    A peaceful march protesting alleged racial profiling Saturday by the East Haven Police was marred when one of the female protesters and a New Haven woman suddenly tangled in the middle of Main Street.
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  • Feds to investigate racial profiling claims

    Feds to investigate racial profiling claims
    The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has determined that complaints of racial profiling and race-based violence made against the East Haven Police Department merit a formal investigation.
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  • East Haven mayor places police chief on administrative leave

    East Haven mayor places police chief on administrative leave
    Mayor April Capone Almon placed Chief of Police Leonard Gallo on paid administrative leave this morning.
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  • Report claims that East Haven cops target hispanics

    An analysis of traffic ticketing and towing in East Haven shows disproportionate enforcement against drivers with Hispanic surnames.
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  • Church leaders hail call for East Haven probe

    Leaders of St. Rose of Lima Church, which has spearheaded the push for a probe into alleged profiling of minorities by East Haven police, welcomed the Board of Police Commissioners’ call this week for a state investigation into the February 2009 arrest of the Rev. James Manship, St. Rose pastor.
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  • East Haven cop wants exoneration in case of alleged racial, ethnic profiling

    Officer Dave Cari wants the police board to release documents he says vindicate him.
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  • Latino residents sue East Haven, police; 10 plaintiffs, including priest, allege civil rights violated

    Latino residents sue East Haven, police; 10 plaintiffs, including priest, allege civil rights violated
    It was an effort to drive one ethnic group — Latinos — out of town through discrimination, intimidation, violence and mistreatment, plaintiffs and their lawyers alleged Tuesday.
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  • East Haven profiling scandal goes worldwide: Story paints Police Department, officers ‘unfairly,’ chief says

    How big is East Haven’s latest black eye in the police scandal involving alleged profiling and abuse of Hispanic residents?
    Big enough to reach Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Alaska, Hawaii, Taiwan and Great Britain, to name but a few places.
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  • East Haven gave '110 percent' in probes of Latino profiling, Gallo says

    East Haven gave '110 percent' in probes of Latino profiling, Gallo says
    East Haven went out of its way to comply with Freedom of Information Act document requests by the U.S. Department of Justice and Yale Law School students representing Apostle Immigration Services and New Haven’s St. Rose of Lima Church, Chief of Police Leonard Gallo testified Tuesday in his long-awaited appearance before the state FOI Commission.
    [Click here to read more.](nhregister.com/articles/2011/01/26/news/doc4d3f44ce3538b894716270.txt)
  • Grand jury begins investigation in racial profiling case against East Haven police

    A federal grand jury investigating allegations of profiling and mistreatment of Latino citizens by East Haven police began meeting Tuesday in Bridgeport, but local officials already have been told that officers won’t be called until a second set of meetings that begin March 15, sources said.
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  • East Haven police get ‘road map’ for changes: U.S. Justice Department report sparked yearlong study of practices

    Almost a year after bringing in a consultant to make recommendations on improving the Police Department, Mayor April Capone Friday released the Police Executive Research Forum’s report.
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  • 2 East Haven officers prevail in civil rights case

    A federal court jury exonerated two East Haven police officers Thursday in a civil rights case filed on behalf of a man who was arrested for allegedly taking money from a Main Street liquor store cash register in 2006, only to have a state prosecutor drop the charges, saying he could not be sure the arrested man was the person identified by police and seen in store surveillance video.
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  • East Haven police board recommends possible discipline for suspended police chief

    It took less than four minutes Tuesday night for the Board of Police Commissioners to vote unanimously to refer Chief of Police Leonard Gallo — on paid administrative leave for 14 months — to Mayor April Capone for “possible discipline, up to and including termination.”
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  • Capone sets June 23 hearing on discipline for suspended East Haven police chief Gallo

    A state marshal served Chief of Police Leonard Gallo with a subpoena Wednesday for a June 23 hearing at which Mayor April Capone will consider discipline against Gallo that could include termination, Town Attorney Patricia Cofrancesco said Thursday.
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  • East Haven Mayor Capone steps aside as hearing officer in police chief disciplinary case

    Mayor April Capone agreed Tuesday to step aside as hearing officer for an upcoming disciplinary hearing on Police Chief Leonard Gallo.
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  • East Haven cop on paid leave after Town Fair Tire incident

    Acting Chief of Police Gaetano “Guy” Nappi put controversial police Officer Dennis Spaulding on paid administrative leave and took his gun and badge this week, police and town officials said Thursday.
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  • East Haven mayor boasts of support for police department, but demonstrators at rally say otherwise

    East Haven mayor boasts of support for police department, but demonstrators at rally say otherwise
    None of the 70-plus people at Wednesday evening’s rally in front of Town Hall to support the East Haven Police Department argued that the department shouldn’t change — or address issues raised by a federal investigation into alleged profiling and mistreatment of Latino residents.
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  • New Haven pastor responds to rally over East Haven police support

    The New Haven pastor whose 2009 arrest spurred the federal government to investigate town police called it a good thing for residents to support the department, but said police need to protect “the whole community.”
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  • East Haven police to take no-confidence vote against Chief Nappi, Mayor Capone, commissioners

    Unhappy with the performance of their superiors, police officers will be conducting a vote of no confidence against acting Police Chief Gaetano Nappi, Mayor April Capone and the Board of Police Commissioners.
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  • More East Haven cops subpoenaed​ as part of federal grand jury probe

    The federal grand jury investigating allegations of profiling and mistreatment of Latino citizens by East Haven police served additional subpoenas to East Haven officers last week, multiple sources said.
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  • East Haven police union votes 'no confidence' in acting chief, mayor, board

    East Haven police union votes 'no confidence' in acting chief, mayor, board
    The police union voted “no confidence” in acting Police Chief Gaetano Nappi, Mayor April Capone and the Board of Police Commissioners, union officials announced Friday outside the Police Department.
    [Click here to read more.](nhregister.com/articles/2011/10/07/news/metro/doc4e8eff7794713844546543.txt)
  • 3 FBI agents visit office of ousted East Haven police chief

    Three FBI agents — including one computer technician — paid a visit to the Police Department Tuesday and requested access to on-leave Chief Leonard Gallo’s locked office, three town officials said today.
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  • East Haven Board of Police Commissioners takes over disciplinary case

    East Haven Board of Police Commissioners takes over disciplinary case
    As a large crowd yelled admonishments such as “Shame on you,” the Board of Police Commissioners met Thursday night and accepted for its consideration two disciplinary matters involving police union President Sgt. John Miller.
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  • Leonard Gallo reinstated as East Haven Police Chief

    Leonard Gallo reinstated as East Haven Police Chief
    Police Chief Leonard Gallo was back on the job Tuesday, despite the presence of a continuing federal probe that prompted officials to put him on paid administrative leave in the first place 19 months ago.
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  • East Haven police board hires lawyer​ as battle with chief takes shape

    The Board of Police Commissioners, responding to Chief of Police Leonard Gallo’s order last week barring commissioners from setting foot inside the police station, hired a familiar face Monday night to represent them in the brewing battle to regain access.
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  • East Haven Mayor Maturo meets with feds to discuss ongoing probe into alleged police violations

    Mayor Joe Maturo Jr. and Town Attorney Joseph Zullo met with U.S. Department of Justice officials Monday to discuss the ongoing federal civil rights probe into allegations of profiling, use of excessive force and mistreatment of Latinos by some East Haven police.
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  • Police profiling instances in Connecticut detailed for federal panel​

    Advocates from Danbury and East Haven testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights State Advisory Committee Tuesday on instances of alleged police profiling that have led to lawsuits in both towns, as well as a grand jury investigation and a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry in East Haven.
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  • East Haven commission unanimously approves policy overriding police chief's order

    The Board of Police Commissioners Wednesday unanimously approved a policy that overrides Chief Leonard Gallo’s order that commissioners only visit the department if invited, even though Gallo rescinded his directive earlier in the day.
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  • Depositions on hold in civil rights lawsuit against East Haven

    Depositions in the federal civil rights lawsuit that Yale law students filed on behalf of Latino residents and business owners against East Haven police officers are on hold until February, according to court records.
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  • Justice Department finds East Haven Police Department deliberately targeted Latinos

    Justice Department finds East Haven Police Department deliberately targeted Latinos
    The East Haven Police Department “engages in a pattern or practice of systematically discriminating against Latinos in violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution,” U.S. Department of Justice officials said Monday.
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  • Federal report on East Haven police brings calls for stricter anti-profiling law, while mayor asks for specifics

    The leader of the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission is calling for a stricter racial profiling prevention law in response to the federal government’s confirmation of mistreatment of Latinos by town police officers.
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  • 2 or 3 East Haven cops may be dropped from civil rights suit over issues with 1 accuser's story

    Two or three of the 12 East Haven police officers accused of mistreating Latinos in a pending federal civil rights lawsuit may be dropped from the case because their accuser allegedly fabricated his story, according to court documents.
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  • Lawyer for East Haven wants sanctions against plaintiff in civil rights suit

    The attorney for East Haven, its Police Department and three officers accused in the federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges that some police officers mistreated Latinos wants sanctions against a plaintiff who wants to drop his claims.
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  • East Haven forms panel to help implement Police Department changes

    A new volunteer committee has been charged with helping the Police Department implement changes in policies, training, community relations and other law enforcement operations, Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. announced Tuesday.
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  • Latino legislators call for more aggressive enforcement of anti-profiling law, cite East Haven

    Latino legislators call for more aggressive enforcement of anti-profiling law, cite East Haven
    Latino legislators called on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Wednesday to support more aggressive enforcement of Connecticut’s anti-profiling law in the wake of the federal findings of “serious civil rights violations” resulting from racial profiling of Latino motorists by East Haven police.
    Click here to read more.
  • Motion seeks to drop 3rd East Haven cop from federal civil rights lawsuit

    A third East Haven police officer would be dropped from the pending federal civil rights lawsuit accusing 12 East Haven police officers of mistreating Latinos, and claims relating to a defendant who now wants to withdraw from the case would be dropped against a fourth officer, according to a recently-filed court document.
    [Click here to read more.](nhregister.com/articles/2012/01/11/news/doc4f0e07d2ea388091630358.txt)
  • FBI arrests 4 East Haven cops in profiling probe; chief not charged, but labeled 'co-conspirator'

    FBI arrests 4 East Haven cops in profiling probe; chief not charged, but labeled 'co-conspirator'
    The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested four East Haven police officers early this morning, alleging a conspiracy to deprive some residents, including Latinos, of their Constitutional rights
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  • East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo says he 'might have tacos' for Latino community

    Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. was caught on camera Tuesday in what he called a “gotcha moment” when a New York TV reporter asked him what he was doing for Latinos Tuesday night.
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  • Amid growing criticism, Maturo apologizes for 'taco' comment

    Amid growing criticism, Maturo apologizes for 'taco' comment
    Controversy surrounding Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr.’s “taco” comment Tuesday continues to grow, with Maturo making a formal apology and some now calling for his resignation.
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  • Group delivers 400 tacos to East Haven Town Hall to protest Maturo's comments

    Group delivers 400 tacos to East Haven Town Hall to protest Maturo's comments
    An extra, extra large order of tacos arrived at Town Hall Thursday afternoon, but their intended recipient, Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. wasn’t there to accept them.
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  • 4th accused East Haven cop makes bail; monitoring device considered

    A police officer who remained in custody this week after being arrested with three co-workers for allegedly mistreating Latinos was scheduled to return home after a Thursday court hearing.
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  • East Haven police not using staff contingency plan yet, but officers worried

    Down four more officers as of Tuesday’s arrests, the Police Department is continuing to cover its shifts, but individual officers — who have complained for months that morale has never been lower — are worn out, sources say.
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  • Opinions vary on how East Haven can redeem itself

    All eyes are now on East Haven and its next moves, following the arrests of four police officers for alleged racial profiling, as well as Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr.’s “taco” comment that seemed to put the town in the spotlight even more than the arrests.
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  • Online call for ouster of East Haven Police Chief Leonard Gallo backed by 15,000

    Online call for ouster of East Haven Police Chief Leonard Gallo backed by 15,000
    An online petition calling for Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. to immediately replace Police Chief Leonard Gallo and “send a message that racial profiling won’t be tolerated” had almost 15,000 signatures as of Sunday evening.
    Click here to read the full story.