'A Little Trigger Happy': Sergeant On Leave After Video Surfaces

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford Police sergeant has been placed on leave after he was caught on camera saying he was "a little trigger happy."

The video of the encounter was posted on Facebook where it has garnered a large number of comments with people upset with the language used.

Hartford Police have identified the sergeant as Chris Barone.

"If anybody wants to fight or run, I'm a little trigger happy guys, I'm not going to lie and I... get paid a ton of money in overtime if I have to shoot somebody, don't do anything stupid," Barone said in the video.

Barone has been placed on administrative leave and internal affairs is investigating, said Assistant Chief Rafael Medina.

"Regardless of the context or the intent, those statements are entirely unacceptable and represent a fundamental disregard for the conduct we expect and the standards we hold ourselves to," Medina said. "We look at it from the perspective of the person on the other end of the field interview, and to hear those words isn’t just scary, it projects an image of law enforcement officers who take use of force lightly. As I hope you know, we do not take any use of force lightly as a Department."

The woman who posted the video said she was with a group of people on Heath Street when they were approached by police around 9:30 p.m. near an abandoned building, according to the Hartford Courant.. She said people in the group were given a ticket for trespassing.

Barone was suspended after he was found to have violated the department's code of conduct following a chase.

HPD confirms Sgt. STEVE Barone placed on admin leave few hours ago over allegations he told people responding to a call if they want to “fight or run” he was “a little trigger happy, I’m not gunna lie” same Barone disciplined after this Chase in 2016 below https://t.co/NQEmBsqrTm

— Jill Konopka (@jillkonopka) August" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/jillkonopk... 10, 2018

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