Hartford report finds no evidence of racial profiling

Hartford's police chief told residents Wednesday that police were not racially profiling people, even though a two-month internal investigation failed to prove whether a lieutenant issued racially tinged instructions to a subordinate. Lt. Stephen Miele, who was accused of ordering officers to arrest pedestrians in the downtown area if they were not white and not wearing suits, was demoted to sergeant after the investigation found evidence of unprofessional behavior. During a shift meeting, Miele allegedly told police, "The people who don't belong downtown should be stopped." When two officers asked what he meant, they were removed from downtown duties.  One of the officers, John Szewczyk, was the one who filed the complaint against Miele, claiming Miele told officers to arrest people downtown "if they aren't white and they aren't wearing a suit."  Miele denied making the racially charged statement. The 31-page investigation report released Wednesday stopped short of labeling Miele's behavior racist, saying the investigation did not "clearly prove or disprove" the allegations. But Chief Patrick Harnett said a review of police reports showed that minorities were not being targeted. [more ]