By
DAVE ALTIMARI and MIKAELA PORTER, daltimari@courant.comThe Hartford Courant
The Enfield police officer
recently accused of brutality has been the subject of 14 internal affairs
investigations over the past seven years, department records indicate.
The citizen's complaints
against Officer Matthew Worden range from his being "rude and
discourteous" during traffic stops to allegations of racial profiling and
ordering his dog to attack a man he mistakenly thought was a burglar.
The Courant reviewed more than
400 pages of internal affairs reports on eight complaints registered against
Worden since 2010. In all of those cases Worden was either exonerated or the
complaint was not sustained by the investigating officer from the Enfield
police department.
Worden was suspended once,
records show, when he got into a fight with a fellow officer in 2007 during a
domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend. He was arrested on assault charges
later dropped. Worden was suspended for 60 days by Chief Carl Sferrazza.
Enfield, a department with
nearly 100 sworn officers, has had 26 civilian complaints in the past four
years. One-third of those were against Worden, records show. In 2013, Worden
had half of the six citizen's complaints against the department.
The Courant reviewed eight of
the most-recent complaints. Six of the eight were made by either Hispanic or
African American residents, some who live in or near the Thompsonville section
of town. Three allege that Worden and other officers are racially profiling the
complainants. Police have denied the allegations.
Sferrazza said because of the
"sheer volume" of complaints against Worden he had his deputy chief
last year review all of the previous internal affairs investigations to make
sure they were all investigated properly. The conclusion was each case was
properly investigated.
"Nothing jumped out as a
pattern. We didn't see it as any particular group of people were being singled
out," Sferrazza said. "If we can sustain that a department rule was
violated we take corrective action. The mere fact that there are a lot of
complaints against an officer doesn't mean anything."
Sferrazza said Worden was
ordered to take a one-day class at the Hartford Police Department in 2012 that
focused on dealing with the public and improving his attitude. The chief said
because Worden is a dog handler he responds to more high risk situations than
many other officers.
Worden is currently on paid
administrative leave while the department investigates a complaint filed by
Mark Maher of Windsor. Maher was arrested on April 1, 2014.
Maher alleges that Worden
struck him several times in the face while he was handcuffed. Maher was charged
with resisting arrest. His attorney has asked the court the dismiss the charges
because of the on-going investigation into Worden's conduct. A hearing is
scheduled in Enfield Superior Court for Aug. 18.
The town council met Thursday
to discuss Maher's arrest but could not discuss the situation because there was
a lack of a quorum.
Of the eight most recent
complaints against Worden, three involve either a use of force allegation or
that Worden, one of the town's K-9 officers, inappropriately unleashed his dog
who severely bit a man in 2011.
That incident occurred on April
9, 2011 while Worden was working a DUI shift paid for by a federal grant. A
call came in about a possible burglary at 133 Columbia Road and Worden left the
DUI spot check area and responded to the call with his dog Falco.
Worden told investigators he
turned his strobe lights off, parked down the street and approached the house
by foot where he saw a truck in the back and flashlights illuminating the
inside of the house.
As Worden walked toward the
front of the house, two men came out the front door. Records indicate Worden
ordered them to the ground. As he approached, he saw two others running in the
back. Worden released the dog and commanded him to "get them," the
report said.
The dog eventually trapped one
of the men in a pickup truck and bit him numerous times. When other police
arrived they determined one of the men, Anthony Deven, had just purchased the
house and had permission from the Realtor to install a new furnace. The three
other men were helping him.
A notice of intent to sue the
town was filed in the case, but a lawsuit was never filed, according to
Hartford attorney Eric Schoenberg.
"The officer claimed that
he believed our client was teasing the dog but he only speaks Spanish so I
don't know how that could have happened,'' Schoenberg said.
The case in which the
investigating officer recommend discipline against Worden occurred on New
Year's Eve in 2013 when Christopher Therrien and two friends were walking home
from a party on Church Street. Worden was in his cruiser parked at nearby
Sylvia's restaurant.
Worden rolled down his window
and started talking to the three men when he claimed that Therrien spit at his
cruiser and called him a racial epithet. Worden got out of the car, pulled out
his baton and called after Therrian.
Worden brought him back to the
cruiser. Therrien alleged Worden pushed him to his knees either with his hand
or baton and threatened to "beat his ass." Worden denied hitting
Therrien or using vulgar language.
Another officer arrived at the
scene and when it was determined that Therrien had no outstanding warrants he
was allowed to leave without being charged.
Sgt. Marianne Christenson
concluded because of the discrepancies in witnesses' stories that the charges
could not be sustained. Captain Jeffrey Golden reviewed her report and signed
off on her conclusions, although he questioned Worden's initial stop and
recommended more training.
"I believe Officer Worden
did not have reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity,"
Golden said.
Deputy Chief Gary Collins
cleared Worden a week later and did not recommend any training. Collins wrote
that he felt Worden was "justified in approaching Mr. Therrien" and
that he had an obligation to investigate suspicious activity.
Many of the complaints about
alleged racial profiling are from parents whose sons have been arrested
multiple times by Enfield police.
Myrtis Foster wrote a seven-page
letter to police in March 2012 about how Worden was rude and harassing her son
Justin Foster.
"Justin is afraid to go
anywhere because the Enfield police are always, and I say always harassing him.
I refuse to have my child afraid to go down the street or the store because of
rogue police officers on the beat," Myrtis Foster wrote.
Police interviewed Foster but
found her allegations "unfounded." The final report indicates
investigators reviewed call records and reports and determined "Justin is
not always the most cooperative person when police arrive and if he is arrested
there is resistance on his part."
