Hartford chief orders re-training of officer, clears others in response to Rep. Khan assault

Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody concluded that allegations made by state Rep. Maryam Khan against members of the Hartford Police Department who responded to investigate her assault outside a Muslim prayer service last June were unfounded with the exception of one officer who will undergo re-training.

Thody’s findings cleared four officers and three sergeants of wrongdoing following accusations made by Khan at a press conference weeks after she was attacked on June 8, 2023, while leaving an Eid al-Adha prayer service at the XL Center with her family.

Khan was critical of the police and said she would call for a federal investigation, alleging that key details were missing from the investigating officer’s report and that she was never offered medical attention and had to request it herself. She was also critical that police were not around when she was attacked and that she did not receive an escort back to her car after police took her statement.

“I can only imagine how painful and traumatic this assault was for the victim and her family, and no one in any community should have to experience so senseless and traumatic an attack,” Thody said in a statement this week. “My heart goes out to her and her family, and as a department, we are deeply committed to ensuring that our response to all victims is compassionate, empathetic, professional, and thorough.

“Today’s findings include a determination that an initial report filed by one of the responding officers did not include all information that should have been included, but that those reporting issues were corrected later in the investigation and had no impact on the case,” Thody added.

“The remaining allegations against the responding officers were determined to be unfounded. It is important to state that the facts of this case are established by substantial video evidence, as the vast majority of both the assault itself and the subsequent response were captured on video and/or audio recordings, including police body camera footage, which is part of this release.”

Thody’s findings came after he reviewed a 39-page report authored by a sergeant in the department’s Internal Affairs Division and reports filed by former Hartford Inspector General Liam Brennan following an investigation conducted by New Light Investigations — a private investigative agency. The chief also took into account a vote by the city’s Civilian Review Board requesting discipline against some of the officers who investigated the assault against Khan before arresting 30-year-old Andrey Desmond — who has since pleaded guilty to multiple charges stemming from the incident.

Thody found that Officer Timothy Rogers did not include the names of Khan’s children in his report despite their presence during the events that led to Khan’s assault, which allegedly included sexually-driven remarks made by Desmond. Desmond did not initially face any child endangerment or sexual assault charges when he was arrested, though prosecutors later added those offenses.

Rogers at the time had been off of field training for about 14 months. Thody concluded that he should undergo re-training in report writing, as there were “many details of the interaction” before the assault not included in his report. He found that allegations of neglect of duty against Rogers were sustained.

In his findings, Thody also addressed accusations that arose after the New Light investigation, alleging Rogers and a supervising sergeant were untruthful during the internal affairs interviews when they said they were unaware of the prayer service that preceded the attack. Thody said inconsistencies in their answers “did not rise to misconduct” and had “no impact” on the outcome of the case, as police could not establish facts to support “the crime being a hate crime.”

According to the internal affairs report released by police, investigators found that dispatchers offered medical attention multiple times and the officers at the scene also asked if Khan wanted to be seen by medics, despite her allegation at a news conference stating she had to ask for an ambulance herself.

Khan, who did not respond to a request for comment Thursday, also criticized police for not being around when she was attacked. The internal affairs report found that officers were hired to work at the XL Center from 7 to 11 a.m. and that the initial call reporting the assault did not happen until 11:05 a.m.

Khan was critical that police did not escort her to her car following the assault and told news crews in the following weeks, “Thankfully we made it to the car,” the internal report said. The internal affairs investigation found that police asked Khan if she wanted a ride, though it did not appear as though she heard it. When asked if they walked to the scene, a person with Khan pointed to the XL Center garage and told police, “Her car’s parked right there,” the internal investigation reported. “We’re going to walk.”

The report also noted that Desmond was being held in custody at the time and no longer posed a threat.

The sergeant who conducted the internal affairs investigation indicated she tried to contact Khan nine times but never received a response.

Following the attack, Khan was assisted by two bystanders who helped detain Desmond until police arrived. One of them, 43-year-old Jason Spencer, was later arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault.

Following one of his court proceedings, Khan was critical that Spencer was arrested and said it was “unfair that someone that assisted a woman being attacked is having to defend himself in our system.”

“Jason Spencer should be rewarded for his bravery, should be celebrated, uplifted and not criminalized,” Khan said in January, adding that “people should not fear coming to assist someone being attacked” and alluding to the state’s self-defense laws.

In conjunction with the release of the internal affairs report, police this week also released several videos from officers’ body cameras and street surveillance. In one of the surveillance videos, a bystander could be seen holding Desmond while waiting for police, at which point Spencer approaches and tries throwing a punch and hitting Desmond with a stick. Shortly thereafter, as multiple other people begin to congregate around Desmond, Spencer could be seen approaching Desmond and kicking him in the face, the footage shows.

“Representative Khan has only two items left to close this issue,” Hartford Police Union President James Rutkauski said Thursday. “First, have a slice of humble pie and apologize to the community for damaging the police department’s relationship and reputation. Second, apologize to the officers who, on the day of the incident, did their job and did it well.”

“I appreciate the Hartford Police Department and the City of Hartford’s transparency regarding Representative Khan,” Rutkauski said. “They could have easily bowed to external political pressure and not released their findings. The work they did putting together the videos and the summary was outstanding.”