East Hartford Police Chief Mack Hawkins faces his Ficacelli test.
East Hartford Police Chief Mack Hawkins will have to decide if he is to abandon the department’s rules in deciding to impose appropriate discipline on Lieutenant Joseph Ficacelli. A former internal affairs investigator, Ficacelli is facing a charge of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol arising from a bizarre incident early this year.
The video was first posted on Daily Ructions and can seen here.
Ficacelli admitted in a Superior Court appearance to switching from the driver’s to the passenger seat in his vehicle when it appeared police would pull him over. Ficacelli was argumentative and claimed to be suffering from a heart attack when he realized police had discovered the switch. An ambulance took Ficacelli to a local hospital.
An audio recording of the East Hartford police veteran revealed he had become more disputatious with police at the hospital. Curiously, Ficacelli refused treatment for his chest pains. He also threatened to embarrass the three officers who appeared at the hospital to complete their paperwork.
As a member of the Office of Professional Standards, Ficacelli was called upon to apply a simple standard to the behavior of officers he investigated. In several instances Ficacelli concluded that a fellow officer had violated Section 4.3 of the East Hartford Police code of conduct. It states that “[n]o Officer shall engage in any personal conduct or act which, if brought to the attention of the public, could
result in justified unfavorable criticism of that Officer or the Department. No Officer shall be
involved personally in disturbances or Police incidents to his/her discredit.”
It does not require a talmudic scholar to conclude that by his own admission Ficacelli engaged in egregious conduct that violated Section 4.3 of the department code. The only question that remains is whether Chief Hawkins will bring discredit on himself and add to the damage Ficacelli has inflicted on the department.
Posted May 17, 2024.