An officer with the Hartford (CT) Police Department has been fired following the surfacing of a video in which he reportedly said, "If anybody wants to fight or run, I’m a little trigger happy, guys. I’m not gonna lie, and I get paid a ton of money in overtime, if I had to shoot somebody."
Video of the incident quickly went viral on social media.
The department said in a Facebook post that Officer Stephen Barone was fired "after the completion of internal investigations and a formal hearing process regarding charges related to his interaction with a group of people in August 2018 and his supervision of a traffic incident in July 2018."
Chief David Rosado said in the post, "Our success as a police department depends on our relationship with the community we serve. Every day, the men and women of the Hartford Police Department are out doing good police work with professionalism and respect, and this officer’s conduct does not reflect the values of our agency. I did not make this decision lightly. We hold ourselves to high standards, and when we fall short, we take responsibility for it. After reviewing the findings related to these two incidents, it's clear to me that there's no scenario in which Mr. Barone can return to his duties as a productive member of the Hartford Police Department. As a department, we are committed to building and rebuilding a strong relationship with residents across our city based on mutual respect, accountability, transparency, and a shared desire to live in a strong Hartford."
Barone had been a 10-year member of the department.
