State Treasurer Denise Nappier issued a statement Saturday taking offense to statements made by a high-ranking Hartford police union official who told WNPR reporter Jeff Cohen that the area where she was pulled over is “a well-known narcotics outlet, it’s a high-crime area.”
“Those innuendos are offensive and insulting—most importantly to the people of that community, as well as to me and my work on behalf of the people of our Capitol City and our state,” Nappier said in a statement.
The social networks have been buzzing about the incident calling it suspicious. Former Gov. John G. Rowland who hosts an afternoon radio show on WTIC said he believes there’s more to the story.
Nappier was stopped in her state-owned vehicle on Barbour Street in the city’s North End Sept. 1 when a Hartford police officer checked her vehicle registration, which due to a computer error looked like it was expired. The car was towed and Nappier walked home.
“While I expressed frustration after the vehicle’s valid registration was not confirmed that evening, it was my decision to walk home,” Nappier said in the statement Saturday. “Nonetheless, the police union representative’s statement, that all three officers on duty that night offered me a ride home, is a fictitious account of my understanding of the options then before me.”
Nazario Figueroa, vice president of the Hartford Police Union, told Cohen that three officers offered Nappier a ride, but she declined and walked the three miles to her home.
The vehicle registration mix up was corrected the following day and shortly after the charges were dropped by state’s Attorney Gail Hardy. Hartford Police Chief Daryl Roberts has said he’s investigating the matter and has reassigned the officer involved.
“From here on out, I intend to have the facts continue to speak for themselves, and look forward to a swift and complete resolution of these matters,” Nappier said.