Fire Lt. Felipe Cordero was helping a woman who collapsed from an apparent drug overdose. A cop arrived on the scene — and ended up handcuffing Cordero and holding him in the back of a police car.
The bizarre and potentially dangerous incident took place in Fair Haven Wednesday afternoon. It drew a small crowd.
And it drew a response from city officials. On Thursday, Police Chief James Lewis and Fire Chief Michael Grant announced they’ve launched a joint internal investigation. Grant said he could remember no similar clash between cops and firefighters at the scene of a call. He and Lewis referred requests for comment on the incident to mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga, who said she wouldn’t provide a detailed account while the matter is under investigation.
Lt. Cordero (pictured Thursday minus handcuffs at the Lombard Street firehouse), a 14-year veteran of the department, declined comment, too.
An eyewitness at the scene of the incident offered this detailed account:
A call came in to the Lombard Street fire station at 4:49 p.m. A woman was reported to have collapsed inside a car from an overdose at Ferry and Dover streets.
Four firefighters, including Cordero, rushed over. They found the woman in the front seat of the late-model car, not quite unconscious, but clearly out of it and apparently under the influence. The car keys were on the dashboard. A man identified as her friend told the firefighters she’d taken drugs.
Cordero took charge of the scene, for the time being. He told the woman she’d be going to the hospital; an ambulance crew was on the way. The woman was cooperative.
Paramedics arrived. Then came three police officers, including Officer Newton Anderson.
Anderson first asked the firefighters for an update. Then he went to talk with the woman.
The woman told Anderson she’s from North Haven. He reportedly told her to “go to North Haven” to “do your drugs.”
Reportedly adopting a harsh manner, he ordered her out of her car. He warned her against his finding needles in her car: “If I get stuck, you are done,” he said, according to the witness.
The woman started crying. She started backtracking on her agreement to be transported to the hospital.
“You should go to the hospital,” the cop reportedly snapped back, “or you’re going to jail.”
“Just put your hands on the trunk,” the cop continued, “so I don’t have to cuff you,” the witness said.
A medic intervened to calm her down and explain the need to get treatment.
“Smoke your crack in North Haven,” Officer Anderson reportedly interjected, “and not in my city?’‘
“Why is he talking to me like this?” the woman asked between tears.
“Calm down,” Cordero advised, “and just ignore him.”
At that point, Cordero and Anderson got into a private conversation that couldn’t be overheard. Eventually, the witness said, Anderson could be heard screaming at Cordero to back away: “If you don’t get back, you’re going to jail.”
Cordero told Anderson to contact a supervisor.
The scene was getting loud. Other firefighters and cops approached. Anderson grabbed Cordero and pulled out handcuffs, the witness said.
“You’re not cuffing me!?” Cordero asked in disbelief.
But he was. The cuffs were slapped on, cutting Cordero’s skin and swelling his wrists. Anderson put him in the back of the police car.
“This girl needs medical attention!” Cordero shouted from the car.
“She is fine,” Anderson shot back. An argument ensued about whether Anderson is capable of making such medical assessments.
Police and fire supervisors showed up. Anderson eventually un-handcuffed Cordero but ordered him to stay in the car. Cordero was released after about 10 or 15 minutes.
Supervisors have ordered reports to be written. The investigation has begun, according to mayoral spokeswoman Mayorga. At this point, Anderson has not been taken off duty, she said.
“At the scene, things can get tense when both sides do their job,” she said. She said the investigation aims to identify any problems that need to be addressed to avoid future incidents like this one.
She confirmed that Anderson had put Cordero in handcuffs and detained him in the police car. She emphasized that Cordero was never formally arrested. The woman apparently wasn’t arrested either, according to Mayorga; instead, she was taken to the hospital for treatment.
A cop who knows Anderson described him as an upstanding officer.
“He’s a good guy. He comes to work on time. He’s courteous,” the cop said.
“These are training issues that could be corrected if they would give our officers better training on how to deal with the community. This is what happens when you have a department that says they’re not doing community-based policing anymore in an environment that demands it,” the cop said.
I can not comment on the issue because we don't know why hand cuffs where needed.
But....Thank you to the officer for saying..<i>The woman told Anderson she's from North Haven. He reportedly told her to "go to North Haven" to "do your drugs."</i>
This women was in one of our community's at 5pm where children are out playing parked on one of our streets shooting up!!! And because she lives in North Haven she deserves better treatment than any other junkie??? If this was a New Haven Junkie would she have been treated differently??