Response to Abbotsford Avenue Shooting Called 'Unacceptable'

A public safety dispatcher misjudged the urgency of a confrontation on March 29 on Abbotsford Avenue, and a police dispatcher also mistook a mother’s initial call to police as a non-emergency, triggering a wider and “unacceptable” 58-minute delay by officers responding to an incident that ended with a shooting, according to the civilian review board.

The review board did not assign any blame but offered steps to prevent a future lapse. Police Chief James Strillacci said there was no deliberate wrongdoing requiring discipline.

The West Hartford Police Department Civilian Complaint Review Board said, “There is no question that a police response time of nearly one hour is unacceptable in all but the most unusual of cases. This was not such a case.”

The 30-page report, released Friday, was based on an internal probe by the Special Investigations Division that began March 31. The review board met May 5.

The review board concluded that the delay was compounded by unfamiliar language, a break in communication between police shifts, and human error.

Strillacci was unavailable for comment but told  Ronald Van Winkle in a memo, “I accept their finding.”

Strillacci also said that adjustments in police dispatch procedures were underway.

“The board concluded that there are certain steps which can be taken which may help prevent a recurrence of such delays,” Strillacci said in the memo. “Some of these steps have been taken already, others are in progress.”

Wilfredo Texidor was shot in the neck during a confrontation with a group of teens shortly after 4 p.m. March 27 outside 113 Abbotsford Ave.

About an hour earlier, his cousin, Quintina Texidor, had called police on a line for routine calls to report a bullying disturbance at 2:57 p.m. involving her daughter, a Conard student. Quintina Texidor called police again at 3:55 p.m., also on the routine line, indicating the problem was escalating.

Police were sent to Abbotsford Avenue at 3:57 p.m. for "verbal threats" involving bullying, according to the report. Six minutes later, a shooting was reported by a caller using 911.

The teenagers, including three 18-year-olds, were arrested a short time later. The gun used by the shooter, a juvenile, was recovered. The names of the juveniles involved have not been released.

Quintina Texidor did not dial 911 for her calls, contributing to a misunderstanding by police, the report indicated. The confusion about the seriousness of the calls was exacerbated during a change in shifts, the report also indicated.

The Texidor family has hired an attorney and did not provide statements to the Special Investigations Division, the report said.

In the first call to police, Quintina Texidor apparently referred to a "clique" or gang – known as “NBA," reportedly standing for "New Britain Avenue." She also told the civilian dispatcher that the alleged gang was threatening to “air up [shoot] my house,” according to a police transcript.

Public safety dispatcher Carol Thibedeau, who took the first call, was unfamiliar with gang jargon, the report said. After Thibedeau logged the call as a non-emergency, Officer Brian Hill, who was responsible for sending officers on calls, also perceived the call as “Code 2” – a non-emergency.

The shifts for Thibedeau and Hill each ended at 3:30 p.m. Officer Courtney Grant replaced Hill and also interpreted the Abbotsford call as non-urgent, the report indicated.

“It is sadly ironic that part of [Grant’s] reasoning for perceiving the call in this fashion was precisely because it had been sitting unanswered for roughly 30 minutes,” the report said.

The review board said 25 officers prepared more than 30 reports in connection with the shooting. Interviews with police, Abbotsford Avenue residents and witnessess were conducted.

“The investigation revealed not a single cause for the lapse but a series of procedural decisions, complicated by independent events, which led to the delay,” Strillacci said in his memo to Van Winkle. “Nor was there any willful misdeed requiring punishment, but a series of judgment calls, not all of which proved correct.”

In response to the review board, Strillacci said public safety dispatchers have received one hour of “gang-awareness training,” which will be routinely updated.

The computerized dispatch system has been updated with audible and visible alerts to remind dispatchers of pending calls after 5 minutes. Dispatch and response times will be reviewed periodically, Strillacci said.

Dispatch procedures were also being formalized to provide an exchange of information between personnel changing shifts.