New law prevents local police from enforcing town ordinances past town border
August 10, 2015
By Jenn Bernstein
Fox CT
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HARTFORDâWith his wife by his side, former MLB Â player and current ESPN analyst Doug Glanville looked on as Gov. Dan Malloy signed a new bill into law.
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âWhat gave rise to these circumstances quite frankly shouldnât have happened,â Malloy said before he signed the bill.
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On a winter day in 2014, Glanville was shoveling his driveway in the West End of Hartford when he was approached by a West Hartford police officer, who had crossed the town line investigating a complaint about a man shoveling driveways for pay, which is a violation of an ordinance involving door-to-door solicitations.
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The man was simply described as black.
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Glanville was forced to explain to an officer from another town that he was standing in his own driveway. He got no apology from the police officer.
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Glanville wrote about the encounter in an article titled âI Was Racially Profiled in My Own Driveway,â which appeared in The Atlantic. It made national headlines.
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On Monday, the governor gave Glanville what many believe he deserved that day.
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âIf no one else has apologized, I apologize for the hassling you took,â said Malloy. âBut I think out of that gave rise to a meaningful piece of legislation an important piece of legislation.â
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The new law prevents officers from crossing town borders to enforce local ordinances, drawing a clear line for police and constituents.
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âItâs a small clarification in some respect but it can be big if we sort of look at whatâs happening in our country and try to figure out a way where Connecticut can be proactive,â said Glanville.
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Glenn Cassis, the executive director of the African-American Affairs Commission, says Glanville has shown change is possible.
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âThatâs a big message that folks need to understand,â said Cassis, âthat the system does work. Â It can work.â
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âItâs very powerful that everybody got in a collaborative spirit and were able to come up with this law,â Glanville said.
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Republished from FoxCT.com.
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