Hartford Officer Demoted, Suspended For Creating 'Dead Pool': PD

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford detective has been suspended for 120 days and demoted due to accusations that he attempted to wager on where the first homicide of 2021 would be, according to a statement from police. Detective Jeffrey Placzek will have to pass a fitness for duty evaluation and complete a restorative justice program before returning to duty.

On Friday, Chief Jason Thody removed Placzek from the Major Crimes Division and charged him with conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

Thody said the ongoing investigation into the members of the police department who received the text message will be finished by the end of next week.

Lt. Paul Cicero, who supervises the Major Crimes Division in which officer Placzek served, was one recipient of the text message. He has been removed from his role as the department’s public information officer and suspended from overseeing the Major Crimes Division pending the outcome of the investigation, according to the statement.

"Officer Placzek’s conduct was unacceptable and damaging both to our department and our community, and today I am demoting him and imposing a four month suspension without pay," Thody said in a statement. "It is critical that every member of the Hartford Police Department conduct themselves in a way that builds and strengthens a relationship of trust with our community, and this conduct undermined that relationship and undermined the work of every single officer on our force."

Thody said the message that Placzek sent made him "disgusted, angry, and disappointed. The idea that one of our detectives would discuss betting in any way on a tragedy is appalling. I have heard from many members of our community who are distraught about this, and I want them to know that I share their anger."

Detective Placzek is a 16-year veteran of the department. He has no prior disciplinary record beyond one instance of documented counseling related to an incident where he damaged an elevator button with his foot, which he self-reported, according to the police statement.

The allegations include attempting to create a "Major Crime Dead Pool," according to The Hartford Courant. Participants would pay $20 to "pin" a location on a map of Hartford for where they would predict the first murder of the new year would occur.

Police have responded to more than 200 shootings in Hartford this year, according to The Courant. Gov. Ned Lamont assigned 15 additional state police detectives there following an uptick in violence in October.

See related: Hartford Police Officer Faces Discipline For 'Dead Pool'