By Evan Lips, New Haven Register
East
haven A day after he was sentenced to serve five years in federal prison for
crimes that included civil rights abuses against Latino immigrants, convicted
ex-police Officer Dennis Spaulding Friday cracked a wall of media silence that
has stood ever since his January 2012 arrest.
He
had taken to Facebook Thursday to post the statement he read aloud in court
moments before U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Thompson’s sentencing. He disputed
the claims of racism government prosecutors heaped upon him for the entirety of
the monthlong trial.
“I
am not a racist,” his statement included, along with stories of working
restaurant jobs alongside undocumented immigrants and the friendships he made.
Reached
Friday night, he talked about why he chose to post it.
“I
felt like my side of the story was never told and I wanted people to know there
are two sides to every story,” he said. “It was the crimes that were targeted,
not the color of someone’s skin.”
Spaulding
noted he couldn’t add more, over concerns anything public would adversely
affect the sentencing appeal his attorney, Frank J. Riccio, was filing.
Spaulding
never spoke during the monthlong trial that ended with his Oct. 21 conviction.
He never elected to take the witness stand to counter claims from his accusers,
instead opting to execute his Fifth Amendment right to silence.
Prosecutors
appeared to have planned in advance to combat any attempts Spaulding may have
tried to make on the day of his sentencing to dispute racism claims. The
government’s sentencing memorandum, filed a week before, states bluntly that
“simply saying does not make it so,” before labeling Spaulding as a “corrupt,
abusive, racist and obstructionist police officer who has no regard for the
civil rights of his victims.”
What
follows below is Spaulding’s statement in its entirety, as posted on his Facebook
profile page:
Dear
Honorable Judge Alvin W. Thompson:
My
Name is Dennis Spaulding:
During
the course of this trial, I have been portrayed as a bully and a racist. I
would like to use this opportunity to give the court, in my own words, a more
complete picture of who I really am and a deeper understanding of my actions.
Since
the time I was 16 years old, I have worked side-by-side with undocumented
immigrates in the restaurant business. They have shared their stories and their
struggles to enter this country, most times coming through the desert with
little food or water. They have shared their struggle to continue to live in
the shadows. As I told Father Manship numerous times, I applaud his efforts to
push for immigration reform. The undocumented population, which I have met,
truly are hardworking people who struggle every day for the betterment of their
lives and the lives of their families. I hope the federal government will soon
address these issues.
