More Details Emerge On Cop Shelter Visit

The police showed up at an animal shelter not because a visiting council member was black, but because of a previous problem involving another visitor, according to Hamden’s mayor.

The mayor, Curt Leng, issued a statement Wednesday evening offering that explanation for an incident involving a visit by Hamden Legislative Council member Justin Farmer to the North Haven Animal Shelter, during which police were called. Hamden, which does not have its own shelter, sends animals there.

Leng’s statement, issued jointly with the town’s police chief, denied ​“implications that police were called as a method of intimidation, on the basis of race/ethnicity.”

Meanwhile, other lawmakers have described their own visits to the shelter — one of which proved controversial — in interviews with the Independent. Police were not called when at least one other elected official of color visited the facility.

And documents newly obtained by the Independent offer more background for what happened.

Farmer’s Account

The incident has become a matter of controversy since Farmer wrote this opinion article about it published last week in the Independent. Farmer who is African-American, entitled the piece “#LegislatingWhileBlack.”

Farmer visited the shelter on Dec. 15 to see Kato and Kleo, two dogs that have been there for six years on a kill order. Their owner, Kim Miller, requested that he accompany her on her Saturday visit to the dogs. He said he had discussed the visit with Hamden officials, including the town attorney and mayor’s office personnel, months ahead of time.

Kato and Kleo were brought to the pound in 2012 after an incident in which an elderly neighbor was attacked and, she said, nearly killed until people came to her rescue. There is a kill order for them from the state, but it’s up to the town of Hamden to set a date for putting them down, and the town has not set a date, postponing their execution. Meanwhile, Miller has been active in trying to lift in the kill order and release the dogs. Her campaign has attracted over 15,000 followers on Facebook.

On the morning of the visit, Miller and Farmer called Hamden Animal Control Officer Chris Smith to notify him that he would be accompanying Miller on her visit. Smith then called a North Haven police officer, who showed up shortly after Farmer arrived. The North Haven police had not been called for either of two previous visits to the shelter by Hamden officials. Farmer questioned why the police had been called when he, a black man, visited, but not when other officials had visited.

Town’s Response

“In recognition of past occurrences involving visitors and animals, we acknowledge that existing protocols concerning direct contact during the visitation of quarantined animals have not always been properly enforced,” Hamden Mayor Curt Leng and Acting Police Chief John Cappiello wrote in the joint statement issued Wednesday night.

“These occurrences create safety issues for individuals involved, and liability risks for the Town. Interaction with quarantined animals at the Shelter is expressly forbidden, and any such occurrence of cage entry or interaction prior to Councilor Farmer’s visit was improper.”

“On Dec. 15, the Animal Control Officer (ACO) on duty requested the presence of an officer to ensure that animal contact protocol was properly followed,” the statement continued. ​“This decision was prompted by a recent incident concerning an individual who entered the cage.”

“Implications that the Town, the Office of the Mayor, or Hamden Police have not taken Councilor Farmer’s inquiries and complaints seriously is simply not accurate,” wrote Leng and Cappiello. ​“Implications that police were called as a method of intimidation, on the basis of race/ethnicity is not consistent with the history of the Shelter. Visitors of all races and ethnicities regularly visit the facility.”

Logan’s Visit

Before Farmer, two other elected officials had visited the shelter with Miller. Both of them entered the cage where Miller is allowed to play with her dogs.

State Sen. George Logan, who is African American, visited the shelter in June. Miller had requested that he accompany her on her Saturday morning visit so that he could see the dogs. Logan did not make arrangements for the visit with anyone other than Miller. He said he did not know if anyone other than her was aware that he would be there.

When he arrived, a North Haven animal control officer was there. She notified Logan that he was allowed to be in a small fenced-off play area with the dogs, but that he could not touch the dogs or go within reach of them.

“At no time did I go within reach of the dogs or touch them or pet them,” Logan told the Independent. The dogs, he said, were on a leash the whole time and he remained out of the range of the leash. He added that the dogs stayed on Miller’s lap for most of the visit. The animal control officer was there the whole time, he said, though she was not in the play area where Logan, Miller and the dogs were.

Logan said that no one else was there at the time of the visit, and that he has had no contact with either the Hamden or North Haven police, aside from the officer who was present, regarding his visit.

Miller later posted a video (reposted here) of Logan at the shelter on the Free Kato and Kleo Facebook page:

Macdowall’s Visit

The ​“recent incident” mentioned in the mayor and police chief’s statement may refer to a visit by Legislative Council Rep. Brad Macdowall.

Macdowall, who is white, said he went some time in October. Miller had asked that he visit with her, so he arranged to accompany her on a Saturday morning to the shelter. Though he said he discussed the visit with other town officials, he never told anyone the specifics of when he would go.

When he arrived at around 8 a.m., he followed Miller straight back into the cage where the dogs were. Chris Smith was there when he arrived, and he shook his hand and began to chat with him about what his work is like day to day. While they talked, Macdowall said, he played with the dogs. He patted them, and at one point one climbed onto his lap.

“When I arrived,” said Macdowall, ​“Chris Smith was pleasant. He allowed me to go back and play with the dogs.” He said they exchanged business cards, and talked about how Hamden needs its own animal shelter.

As they left, Macdowall said, Smith told him to sign in, as he had forgotten to have him do so at the beginning of the visit. He added that at no point was Smith hostile or unfriendly in any way.

Macdowall said that he, Smith, and Miller were the only people at the shelter at the time of the visit.

Weeks later, however, Macdowall heard there were rumors that he had snuck in and that his visit had been an issue of trespassing. He did not hear that from Smith himself, but other people told him that Smith had said it. He said he thought someone had posted on the Free Kato and Kleo Facebook page about his visit, which was how word got out about it. He added that he believed Smith had then gotten a ​“slap on the wrist” for not having enforced the rule that Macdowall was not supposed to be let too near the dogs, and that he had started to claim that Macdowall had snuck in in order to cover up his mistake.

Macdowall explained that the administration’s excuse for the heavy-handedness of Smith’s response when Farmer visited was that Smith had gotten in trouble for letting Macdowall have contact with the dogs.

He told the Independent that he is skeptical of the administration’s explanation. ​“Obviously there’s a racial implication here,” he said.

What The Reports Say

Farmer said Wednesday that he has not gotten clear answers to his questions about what exactly the policies are that Hamden and North Haven follow when visitors come to the shelter.

In his report on the incident, provided to the Independent, Smith explained that at 8:25 on the day of the visit, he received a call from Miller, who said that she would be bringing Farmer with her.

“I told Miller that there is no problem with the councilman visiting,” he wrote, ​“but that he would not be allowed to be inside of the fenced area where the dogs were, and that he would not be allowed any direct contact.”

According to the report, Miller became ​“argumentative,” and Smith told her ​“she is well aware of these guidelines and that she needs to make sure Councilman Farmer understands them as well.”

“In the past,” he wrote, ​“Miller has disobeyed these guidelines, and has placed three people, a Channel 3 reporter, a State Senator, and another town councilman in a dangerous situation.”

“In order to avoid any misunderstanding regarding the guidelines, I asked AACO Chrystal Rashba to call her PD and request an officer respond to the animal shelter to prevent a breach of peace or a trespass. Also, to reinforce the importance of the guidelines, and that there will not be any direct contact with these two Rottweiler’s by Councilman Farmer.”

When Farmer asked why three other visitors had been allowed to have contact with the dogs, Smith wrote that he ​“informed him that there are procedures in place for viewing the dogs.”

“In terms of complying with people and following rules, I went above and beyond to make sure that I didn’t break any policies or procedures or rules,” Farmer told the Independent. ​“I called ahead of time letting people know that I was coming and I also said that I wasn’t going inside the cages.”

Farmer requested to see the policies in writing that Smith and others had referenced. The mayor emailed Police Chief Cappiello, asking him Farmer’s questions about the incident.

To the question ​“Are Hamden visitors allowed inside the animal cage?” Cappiello responded .“People are not allowed to have contact with animals that are quarantined. Ms. Miller is an exception to this rule.”

Farmer, through Leng, also asked whether it is a North Haven policy that a Hamden animal control officer be present when an animal from Hamden receives a visit. Cappiello responded: ​“Quarantined animals are handled different than an animal up for adoption. Animals up for adoption would be shown by either Hamden or North Haven ACO’s/Staff. Hamden has accommodated Ms. Miller to the point we pay overtime so she can see her dogs on the weekends.”

According to other documents provided Farmer and other council members, officers do get overtime for Miller’s non-business-hours visits, though Miller is responsible for the costs.

Cappiello said that he was waiting to hear from North Haven on the details of its policy regarding visitors to the shelter.