Four East Haven, Connecticut police officers accused of systematically targeting Latinos with unlawful search and seizures, traffic stops, and physical abuse were arrested on Tuesday.
The FBI has accused Police Sergeant John Miller, Officers David Cari, Jason Zullo, and Dennis Spaulding, known within the East Haven Police Department as “The Miller Boys,” of intimidating both fellow officers and the Latino community.
“All the Latinos around here have problems – they are afraid of the police,” said La Bamba bar owner Michael Maren, one of the establishments mentioned in the indictment as being targeted by the police officers.
When the anti-Latino bias issue was addressed with East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo, he maintained that Latinos were few and far between in East Haven, despite the fact that according to Census reports, the Latino community is mostly comprised of Ecuadorian immigrants and makes up 10% of the town’s population.
Mayor Maturo responded to questions about his plans to repair relations with the Latino community by saying, “I might have tacos when I go home. I’m not quite sure yet.”
The mayor has attempted to apologize for his comments, stating that it was taken out of context.
According to government officials, the investigation is still active and there is potential for more arrests. All four officers pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, CT, and three of them were released on bond.
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This has been done in the NYPD for years and hasn’t stopped cuoprrtion. I don’t know what is done with the information though. I suppose once internal affairsre-arrests someone who gets caught by some other agency, they look at the finacial information and say “Wow, we should have been watching this guy!” Ed