Things changed in Hartford after 14-year-old Aquan Salmon, who was suspected of a robbery, was fatally wounded by a Hartford patrolman on April 13, 1999.

Things also had changed in 1969, when, according to city officials, Black and Latino residents challenged a “systematic pattern of police discrimination” and sued seven municipal employees in their individual and official capacities: Police Chief Thomas Vaughan, the city manager, director of personnel, a captain, a sergeant, and two police officers.

The lawsuit, known as the Cintron v. Vaughan case, brought a settlement and 1973 consent decree between the plaintiffs and city, which established a “code of police conduct.” It required a written procedure for internal review of complaints against police, including interviewing all available witnesses and giving complainant written reply; that officers avoid using profane and derogatory terms, among other things.

But some say things haven’t changed enough.

Now 50 years later, Hartford’s City Council has voted to extend the consent decree again to ensure the city is upholding its commitment to increase the Hartford Police Department’s diversity to reflect the city and that the department continue to improve practices to make certain it upholds rights of city residents. There also is a pending motion for contempt, claiming the city had not fully complied with all aspects of the Cintron agreements.

The residents/plaintiffs in that original case had claimed the Hartford Police Department conducted “a campaign of violence, intimidation, and humiliation against Black and Latino residents in the city.”

After Aquan was killed, the city also faced a nearly year-long probe by a state prosecutor that cleared Officer Robert C. Allan of wrongdoing in the shooting. But landmark changes came, with a Citizen Complaint Procedure and more civilian oversight to the police department, a movement led by religious and community leaders.

Not everything worked exactly as planned, however, and a contempt of court order against the city was issued in 2007, after community groups claimed the city was in violation of the consent order because it failed to eliminate a backlog of citizen’s complaints by hiring more internal affairs investigators; install a computer system to track complaints filed against officers; train community groups to take complaints for the police department; and notify the public when the complaints were resolved and officers had been disciplined.

Amid further complaints that the city remained noncompliant with the 1973 decree’s orders, a federal magistrate in 2016 approved a three-year extension, setting its expiration for Oct. 31, 2019. The extension was backed by the city council, the Courant reported at the time. It was extended again to October 2022, the same month the plaintiffs filed a motion for contempt.

City council support

Councilman TJ Clarke, who introduced the resolution extension, said it will ultimately benefit the residents of the city. Clarke said that, in discussions with residents, he learned they feel this is not the appropriate time for the consent degree to be sunset.

He said he agrees with the residents, and would like the police department to communicate better with community members.

“The police department should be reporting to members of the community regarding the progress made so that it can be clear, even with the police department’s updated policies — (they) should be made clear, (along with how they) actually mirror what the components of the consent decree are … so that everyone can be on the same page,” he said.

Clarke said he hopes the resolution extension will prompt the police department to report more on current staffing levels, what their progress is, and the current climate of the agency.

Councilman Nick Lebron, who is a mayoral candidate, said keeping the consent decree open to ensure the department reaches standards set in the case would only equate to a better police department.

“Identifying and aligning demographic characteristics coupled with any efforts to increase access to the police force for our residents would not only be a success for the individual officer but a success for the community,” he said.

Councilwoman Tiana Hercules said that she commends Clarke for bringing the resolution forward, along with the other council members who have implemented change to shape a more transparent police department in the city.

“It is imperative that our police department reflects the community that it serves, and upholds a high level of respect for all of our residents. Hartford has been a leader in ensuring a more equitable police department by enacting the Civilian Police Review Board and the police accountability review board,” she said.

Hercules said the city having these bodies coupled with evaluation and assessment under the mandates of the consent decree would — hopefully — help to ensure the police department is in compliance with federal anti-racism law, and doesn’t regress to the shameful realities of the city’s past.

Councilwoman Marilyn E. Rossetti, who was on the council when Salman was killed, said some progress has been made over the past 20 years, but the city is not done yet.

“You know, certainly it’s my perspective, some of the things I see around diversity and that other people are trying to make an effort, but any institution, whether it’s police, it’s hard to change. Old habits die hard. But I also hear from people, the people who are affected the most … that it’s not done,” she said.

She said that she hopes people in different areas of power in the city will see that some of the city’s elected officials feel strongly about this, especially on the resolution.

“It’s important for us to make a public statement that this is something we still want to see — not sunset,” she said.

Councilwoman Shirley Surgeon echoed Rossetti’s sentiments and also said there is much more to be done, especially when it comes to making sure the demographic makeup of the police department is in line with that of the city.

The Hartford Police Department has 379 officers in its ranks, including 45 Black and 83 Hispanic officers with 57 women among the force, according to department spokesperson Lt. Aaron Boisvert.

“It’s going to take years. I believe it’s gonna take years (for) the 20 or 25 people per class to actually start (representing) the demographics of the city. So that’s why I truly believe that we should not let the consent decree sunset,” Surgeon said.

Councilmember John Gale said that the consent decree was ultimately entered to make the Hartford Police Department better reflect and better serve the city.

“So interestingly, the more things change, the more they remain the same, right? I mean, here we are 50 years later, and we’re saying the exact same things. That’s why having Cintron around is a helpful reminder that we’re not there yet. If you look at the demographics of the workforce of the city of Hartford, in virtually every department except for police, the demographics mirror the community,” he said.

Gale said that he gives credit to current Chief of Police Jason Thody. During the seven years that he has been on city council, he has seen a real effort to recruit people of color and residents onto the police force that has been somewhat successful.

“They’ve done a tolerable job of recruiting, but it’s a 400-member police force and their classes are 25 at a time, of which not all ended up graduating, not all end up taking a job with Hartford. So getting change comes slowly. And so it’s as I said, having Cintron there so that you ultimately know that you have to justify what you’ve been doing in the federal district court is just another helpful reminder of where we all want to be,” Gale said.

City opposes motion

Hartford Corporation Counsel Howard Rifkin said that after the plaintiffs filed a motion for contempt in October, the city filed a motion opposing it. That motion is before U.S. District Court in Bridgeport and the judge indicated she will rule on this motion based upon the filings on the motion, Rifkin said.

In the city motion, the department said that they have “demonstrated a strong commitment to recruitment and retention of minority and city resident officers.”

In the current academy class, which began April 3, there are 12 Hartford recruits; out of the 12, two recruits are city residents, 67 percent are minorities (including all females), and 17 percent of the recruits are female.

Hartford police officials said they also have various ongoing initiatives to increase increase diversity within the force and garner trust from the community. One of those was becoming accredited last year by the CT POST Council, which means the department policies and practices meet best practice standard.

Department officials also said they adopted the 30X30 Initiative, committing to a national initiative with a goal of increasing women in police recruit classes to 30% by 2030, and to ensure “police policies and culture” support the success of qualified women officers.

Police officials also said their recruitment division actively recruits in city forums, such as community groups and as part of their faith-based initiative, that they are preparing to hold a Citizen’s Police Academy to allow interested city residents to learn about the department, and that the department has liaisons to many city boards and commissions with oversight on the police department, such as the Police Accountability Review Board.