West Hartford Mom Calls Police-Student Incident Racially Charged

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford resident said a reprimand handed out to a Hartford police detective after a confrontation with two Conard High School football players on a fund-raising campaign last summer is "unacceptable." She added she may now pursue legal action through a civil rights lawyer.

The case dates back to Aug. 26, 2019. Keesha Answer said her son and another player, both Black, were participating in a long-standing tradition at Conard — selling "Chieftain Cards," door-to-door, while wearing team jerseys. The cards feature discounts at local restaurants.

According to a complaint filed by Answer and a subsequent Hartford Police Department report, between 8:30 and 9 p.m., the players were knocking on doors in the southern part of West Hartford. As they were walking along one street, a white sport utility vehicle stopped near them, according to the documents.

Answer said a white officer in a police vest asked what they were doing in the neighborhood. The officer said his wife, later identified as another Hartford detective, was "terrified" that the students had knocked on her door, according to the complaint.

According to documents and Answer, the players reported the detective who exited the SUV displayed "a whole bunch of attitude" that included yelling and visible anger. After a few minutes, the detective returned to the SUV and left. The student-athletes then reported the incident to Answer, who, in turn, filed a complaint.

The complaint claims the detective, identified as Phil Borkowski, left an active investigation in Hartford to go to his home in West Hartford and confront the players after receiving a call from his wife. A subsequent report states those claims were backed up by an investigation.

In a letter to Answer dated June 19, Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody said six charges were investigated — harassment, neglect of duty, discourteous attitude, conduct unbecoming an officer, violation of the code of conduct, and a civil rights violation.

Two allegations were sustained — neglect of duty and violation of the code of conduct. The result was repeated in a report on the incident.

Borkowski was given a 10-day suspention, the maximum for the department, according a spokesman for Hartford mayor Luke Bronin's office. Another officer in the SUV, identified was Josh Lewis, received a two-day suspension.

The chief apologized for "the trauma that your son and his friend have experienced."

He added, "Regardless of which charges were sustained, your son and his friend were not doing anything wrong, and this interaction with law enforcement was unnecessary. I completely understand why you feel the officers' response was racially motivated."

Thody said the charge related to civil rights violation was "not sustained," while explaining investigators could not prove or disprove the allegation – because, based on all the interviews, "it appears that the officers responded to the area not based on the specific identity of your son and his friend."

He added,"Based on the interviews, it appears one officer's wife was awoken by a knock on the door, became alarmed (unnecessarily), and called her husband," the letter states.

The chief continued, "I recognize that may be unsatisfactory to you, and I understand why. I hope you know that the charges that were sustained, neglect of duty and violation of the code of conduct, are serious ... I expect officers to behave, and it is the kind of behavior that undermines trust."

In a phone interview with Patch Thursday afternoon, Answer said she believes the incident was racially motivated and said she would consult a civil rights attorney. She described herself as an immigrant from Jamaica, and called the incident "insulting."

"The reprimand is only acknowledging that an assigment was abandoned, not the harassment," she said.

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