HARTFORD — Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody is standing by his recommendation to demote and suspend the sergeant whose “dead pool” text to fellow detectives sparked a community uproar last year, a punishment that a new independent review calls “excessive.”
The outside review of Hartford’s internal investigation, which the department received Monday and released to the public Thursday, underscores tensions that have been simmering between police and city leadership and rank-and-file officers.
The firm that conducted the review, New York-Based Integrated Security Strategies, concluded that the department acted in a “timely and effective” manner after learning on Dec.