HARTFORD POLICE UNION
20-28 Sargeant Street Hartford, CT 06105
Tel. 860-548-1435 Cell 860-803-7085 JohnSzewczyk@hartfordpoliceunion.com
Connecticut’s Largest Independent Municipal Police Uni
on
“Serving People, Who Serve People”
 
President Sergeant John Szewczyk Office of the President
The Hartford Courant was factually inaccurate this past Sunday in their anti-
police editorial (Moody’s Right to Point
 
to Hartford’s Unions;
10/22/17). What the editorial board failed to mention is that Mayor Bronin, not the Hartford Police Union, has refused to bargain in good faith. They failed to include that millions of dollars in concessions have been offered by the union, yet declined by Mayor Bronin. Despite Hartford being one of the lowest paid departments in the state, Mayor Bronin has publicly stated that Police Officers are paid too much. New members of the police department earn $835.86/week and after deductions for items such as healthcare and pension, the average new member of the Hartford police department earns $517.84/week or $12.95/hour. This is a for a position where there is an extremely high likelihood of being injured, one that requires nine months of training, in a city that has had 25 murders this year. If you compare this to a much safer municipality, such as West Hartford, the pay for new Officers in Hartford is $18,000 less annually, a drastic difference. Furthermore, the Bronin administration complicated negotiations by settling a lawsuit brought against the city and forcing the officers to pay the judgement themselves, even when the officers had been cleared of all wrongdoing. In fact,  just last month, United States Federal Judge William I. Garfinkel harshly criticized Mayor Bronin in a decision by ruling
“The City’s position, in addition to being
unsupported by precedent, is bewildering. How can Hartford maintain a qualified police force when it is willing to expose its officers to personal liability for compensatory damages for civil rights judgements? What capable officer, in his
or her right mind, would want to work for such a city?” 
 The mayor constantly points to high pension costs, yet refuses to mention that the officers do not receive social security upon retirement and they fund their own, well-managed pension fund, contributing over four times what most current state employees contribute to their pension fund. The Mayor has purposely blamed the financial difficulties of the XL Center on the Hartford Police Department. Yet he refuses to mention that the city keeps approximately 65% of the amount they bill the XL Center, whereas only paying the officer working the event approximately 35% of the bill.
1968-2017 49 Years of Excellence
 
HARTFORD POLICE UNION
20-28 Sargeant Street Hartford, CT 06105
Tel. 860-548-1435 Cell 860-803-7085 JohnSzewczyk@hartfordpoliceunion.com
Connecticut’s Largest Independent Municipal Police Uni
on
“Serving People, Who Serve People”
 
The truth is Mayor Bronin has attempted to use the Hartford Police Union as a scapegoat. He has purposely not settled a contract even when he fully understands the Police Department is extremely overworked and underpaid. He would rather pay exorbitant legal fees to Fairfield County law firms and continue to get scorned in federal court. He would rather blame past administrations instead of promoting a plan to move our amazing city forward. In fact, over a dozen businesses have stated they will not come to Hartford until Mayor Bronin either im
plements a plan for Hartford’s future or is no longer in office.
Ironically, every business considering Hartford has been nothing but impressed with the Hartford Police Department and the amazing work the men and women do with very limited resources. The current police department is 150 officers below minimum staffing levels, yet Mayor Bronin refuses to give his police a contract, which they have been without since July 1
st
 
of 2016. Blaming police in today’s environment may be an easy
thing to do, but i
t certainly isn’t reality
, fair, or appropriate. Unfortunately, the Hartford Courant failed to complete their research and paint the full picture of what is really going on. They flippantly state that the police should just give up the pension for which they have been funding themselves and for which they deserve. I suspect if they were told to do the same with their own defined benefit or defined contribution savings, they would not feel the same.
Sgt. John Szewczyk President, Hartford Police Union
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