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Hartford police officer shoved bystander who was filming May arrest, prompting retraining, memo says

Related Topics: Hartford, Hartford Courant

An outside investigator found that a Hartford police officer shoved a man who was filming a violent arrest in May, contrary to the statements of that officer and his supervisor, according to a memo from Chief Jason Thody.

The bystander’s video of the incident circulated online in June, prompting questions about use of force and police accountability from members of the public and Hartford’s city council. In the end, their primary concern was not the arrest itself, in which an officer was headbutted by a suspect, but Officer Brian Herrmann’s physical interaction with a bystander.

The internal investigation was made public Friday by Councilman Josh Michtom, a Working Parties Family member and public defender, who shared a Sept.