NORWICH POLICE CITED FOR POSSIBLE RACIAL PROFILING
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A new report on Connecticut police traffic stops singles out six municipal departments, including Norwich, and a state police troop for having high rates of pulling over minorities and says those agencies will be analyzed further. The report released Thursday by Central Connecticut State University analysts looked at data from October 2015 to September 2016 that all police departments were required to submit. Analysts said Troop B state police in North Canaan and departments in Berlin, Monroe, Newtown, Norwich, Ridgefield and Darien had “statistically significant” disparities in traffic stops of minorities compared with stops of whites. State police and local officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The report says stops of minority drivers statewide were more likely to happen during daylight hours when their race and ethnicity are more visible.
BUDGET FIXING
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut lawmakers are returning to the Capitol to make some late fixes to the new, two-year $41.3 billion state budget. Both Democratic and Republican legislative leaders said Thursday they’re tentatively planning to hold a Senate session on Tuesday and a House of Representatives session on Wednesday to vote on the proposed changes. Lawmakers are expected to consider compromise language crafted by Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut Hospital Association that’s supposed to ensure Connecticut will receive as much as $1 billion in federal revenue tied to a tax on hospitals. It’s part of a complicated federal reimbursement formula. Leaders say $26.4 million will also be released in elderly rental assistance that was mistakenly held up, as well as make minor changes to two other sections of the budget.
WHAT CAN BROWN STEAL FROM YOU?
A UPS worker from Oakdale will serve four years in prison for stealing items from his workplace. 25-year old Phillip Taylor was arrested in August after a supervisor at the UPS facility in Bozrah noticed merchandise was being taken from packages where Taylor worked. The supervisor discovered Taylor had placed an item into his backpack. Police found a number of “Coach’s Brand” items in Taylor’s home, including wallets, charms, and shoulder bags. Marijuana and drug paraphernelia was also discovered. Taylor entered a guilty plea in New London Superior Court Thursday. He was arrested last year for possessing illegal drugs.
FIRE VICTIM ID
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) – Police have identified the victim of a fire in a condemned house in New London as a 64-year-old man. Stanley Jacovich was pulled by firefighters from a boarded-up residential structure on Eastern Avenue that burned early Wednesday morning. He was rushed to the hospital but was later pronounced dead. Jacovich was the owner of the condemned, multi-family home. Tony Szramoski, the shelter operations manager at the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, says Jacovich stayed at the shelter from time to time, but always went back to the home. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ARRESTS
A domestic violence situation in Norwich leads to two arrests. Police say 62-year old Corine Barrington is being held on 25-thousand dollars bond, after being charged with first-degree assault, while 60-year old Ronald Bendixen of Uncasville is accused of third-degree assault, and second-degree strangulation. He’s being held on 10-thousand dollars bond. The arrests stem from an early Tuesday morning incident at 2 Manwaring Avenue. Police say Barrington allegedly stabbed a male victim with a broken piece of glass. The victim, who police wouldn’t say was Bendixen, was treated and released for neck lacerations.
