New Haven Independent

Posted by: WEBblog 1 | March 7, 2008 4:29 PM

"Commissioner Epstein's actions were entirely proper," said city Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts, who oversees the police department. He noted that Epstein didn't mention his official position "until the matter was settled" and no ticket had been issued.

What...
Smuts believes that Epstein running a red light is "entirely proper". Then under question Epstein tries to intimidate the officer while attempting to pull "RANK"...
Smuts do you really want the citizens of New Haven to believe that??

Give me a break...
and give Coppola a warning for not giving the ticket to Epstein.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | March 7, 2008 4:46 PM

ok I do have to say after reading the other story about the officer..... I have my doubts about the Comm.'s view of things. It is still a he said, he said situation. Did the officer have a cam on in the car???

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | March 7, 2008 5:20 PM

This is B.S. He should have be given a ticket!! The last i saw on t.v. was a crack down on pepole
who are run lights in new haven.Second so what he said he is a police commissioner he should be given a ticket for not having a seat belt and running the red light a person title should not apply when the law is broken,if this would have been any one else you would have got a ticket. This should be investigated by the us attorney due to the corruption in the nhpd!!

Posted by: True New Havener | March 7, 2008 5:36 PM

Actually they don't seem to disagree on anything. The officer admits he cut the commissioner off. The commissioner admits he drover through the red light. They both say the commissioner looked at the badge and said he was going to tell the chief.

It is also not clear that either did anything particularly wrong. The cop should not have cut the commissioner off (but we have all made that mistake). The commissioner should not have blown the light (but most of us have made such an error as well).

If the commissioner felt the need to tell the chief that an officer made a bad driving decision, and the officer appears to be willing to admit to it, then I would guess the officer (unless he has made this mistake repeatedly) would get off with a stern talking to or a reprimand. I would think the commissioner is well within his rights to tell the chief about bad driving by a cop. And the officer acted appropriately by writing this all up.

So what's the issue? Two people made mistakes, maybe got a little grumpy, but did not lose their cool.

Did I miss something?

Posted by: Edward_H | March 7, 2008 6:13 PM

Then Epstein looked at Coppola's badge -- a move Coppola took as a threat.

This officer considered looking at his badge a threat? I wonder how Coppola treats normal citizens who look at his badge and "threaten" him.

Posted by: DingDong | March 7, 2008 8:24 PM

My sympathy is with Coppola on this one, although as others have remarked it is just a 'he said,' 'he said' situation. I also don't really trust the NHPD - I really hope they don't retaliate against Coppola for telling his side of the story to the press. You can say the adminstration has already lined up against him.

Posted by: John | March 7, 2008 9:23 PM

Cederhillresident,
Cam in the car????
Hahahahahaa, this city is so poor they can barely afford bullets for the cops guns.

Posted by: bugupit | March 8, 2008 9:00 AM

"Then Epstein looked at Coppola's badge -- a move Coppola took as a threat."

"He looked at my name tag and badge number and I told him D.W. Coppola badge 488."

I sure hope citizens still have the right to do this without it being seen as an aggressive act!

Old Chief, New Chief, Administrative Chief, please make sure this is the case.

Posted by: jms | March 8, 2008 9:37 PM

Officer Coppola took home $174,044.90 last year? That's not too shabby.

Posted by: KAMB | March 9, 2008 9:33 AM

The commisioner should have stoped for the light. and no where in the report does Coppola say he took loking at his badge as a threat. those were epsteins words decribing coppola.

Posted by: KAMB | March 9, 2008 9:38 AM

And what difference does it make if Coppola made a lot of money over the years working overtime? obviously Smuts is trying to smear him. where is the crime when an officer works overtime to make extra money to support his family? everyone is quick to try to slam the police. look at what the mayor and his croonies have done to this city over the years with their poor fiscal decisions. lok how their poor chices of appointing people in postions of power have crippled this city morally and ethically. he should have chosen a qualitifed police chief who puts qualified commanders in control to bring backk accountability to the pd.

Posted by: on whalley | March 10, 2008 9:23 AM

Of course the laws that all of us common folk have to obey don't apply to the elite however small their particular level of elite happens to be. Look at anti-gun Stallone with his CA concealed carry permit which no average man can have, NYC where only the rich and the white can get permits to carry, Ms. O'Donnel preaching and speaking about how wrong it is for anyone to be able to arm themselves while she travels with armed security.

From simple peons like a police commissioner and Mr. Smuts to the fabricated elitism of Hollywood and celebrity all up to the heads of government like the president and out into the self-proclaimed leaders of the world sitting at the U.N. every last one of them thinks they are somehow different than the everyday blue-collar individual. They legislate to babysit. It's partly their fault for being so insulated and arrogant and it's partly our fault for apparently being as stupid as we are doing things like buying a house sight-unseen and being satisfied by the moronic circus that is this emergency meeting in Hartford to somehow legislate away stupid kids driving like jackasses and warping themselves around trees. Because if the very real potential of death is no deterrent to reckless driving a greater fine or ticket will be?

So is the elite tier truly better than all of us? Are we really so stupid and dependent we need to be babysat from cradle to grave like so many claim and actually demand? Am I overestimating the hubris and arrogance of those in control or am I seriously underestimating the lack of competence and the severe mental retardation plaguing my fellow blue-collar slobs?

And if I'm caught in the middle not dependent or simple enough to succumb to nanny control and not motivated by power or self-righteous enough to go into a position of control what am I to do?

Is the only choice really sheep or shepherd?

That's the problem with not wanting anyone to tell you how to live your life. You generally don't care to tell anyone else how to live their life so you end up pretending other people aren't telling you how to live your life and you wake up everyday to a new story in the news about how you're going to be babysat whether you like it or not. Every freedom you enjoy suffers another setback. Against your wishes everyone else has decided what's best for you from your diet to your water to your medical treatment to your hobbies and sports. One of the most ridiculous examples of this is that damn seatbelt law. Who the hell does it hurt if I'm not wearing a seatbelt? Up until that became law I wore it all the time. I haven't since it became law.

I've decided to keep living as though I were still free. I'll live my life the way my father lived his and my grandfather his regardless of the laws and regulations and bans and demands to come. I don't want to be a sheep. I don't care to be a shepherd. So I'll get tossed into prison sooner or later for violating some law that never existed before or for refusing to go along with "universal" welfare and all the sheep can clap and be glad.

This elite getting off unabashedly because of who he is is a symptom of all this.

I'm not saying that because we have to put up with this so should he. I'm saying nobody should have to put up with it. Not him. Not me. Not any of you. But what do we do? Rather than cry out for equal liberty the cry is always for equal punishment. Why?

Posted by: Heights Resident | March 11, 2008 5:37 PM

The officer should have issued the commisioner a ticket, although it is officer discrection wether or not to issue such a ticket. I like that cop bashing Threefiths would like the State Att. to fully investiagte a minor traffic infraction though, he always good for a laugh.

Here's a question that has been asked to death though, how does a look at a badge constitute a threat?, I think this officer should lighten up.