June 1, 2009

Accused hit-and-run driver Robert Park arrested today

The police reporter for the Press, Diane Church, is working on a story. But meantime, see this one in the Courant.
According to the Courant, Park is charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter with a vehicle, negligent homicide, drunken driving, evading responsibility and misconduct with a motor vehicle. He is being held on a $200,000 bond.
Lt. Edward Spyros promised to deliver the report to me in a PDF format when the arrest was made, so I expect you can read all the details here before too long.
For all the background, click on Waye just beneath this post. It will bring up all the past stories.

*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Time for changes in the police dept. we need our mayor to take charge and put the union last. Dont have to have a meeting with fergie she has enought on her plate

Anonymous said...

I cant beleive the mayor let the dept drag there feet. We need to start calling the mayor and letting him start putting these people on notice. this was a real insult to the family . bull it takes time the police dept should start taking courses on how to be police. Not sit in there cars at dunkin dounets and talk on the cell phones.

Anonymous said...

5:28, We people with brains realize that the 2 months spent crossing every t and dotting all the i's to ensure they had a strong case against the driver instead of rushing to make an arrest and maybe dropping the ball was time well spent.

Anonymous said...

YOU voted for him, YOU an vote him out!!!

Anonymous said...

Too bad there weren't witnesses . I've seen toooo many punk kids wandering the middle of the roads in Bristol ignoring the motorists attempts to safely navigate around these obnoxious jerks .

Anonymous said...

To the anonymous post at 7:03. There was a witness - Henry's best friend. Also, the boys were walking their bikes, on the correct side of the road (not exactly obnoxious behavior). Get your facts straight. Let's stop criticizing the police and focus on what is important. Why does everyone think they are experts in the field of police work? They took the time they needed to make sure they could prosecute to the full extent of the law. In time, justice will be served for Henry, but it won't heal the pain.

Anonymous said...

MUST BE COPS ON THIS BLOG TO BAD THERE NOT DOING THERE JOB THEY HAVE TIME TO BLOG. THE POLICE SCREWED UP FACE IT. SOME ONE SAW THE TRUCK BUT IT TOOK THE COPS TIME TO FINISH CONVERSATIONS ON THERE CELL PHONES. THE TAX PAYERS SEE IT BUT ARE AFRAID TO SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE OF RETALEATINO.

Anonymous said...

Its a shame people cover for the cops. next time ypu go by a construction site and the cop is on a cell phone and traffic is messed up think aboutit. next time you see cop car in driveway for two hours ask your self why . a street off of west street on second shift a cop car is parked in driveway all the time . 2 or 3 lefts past st anns church i tought it was a police sub station . Then watched one night and saw it was a plain clothes cop. Isnt that nice.

Anonymous said...

7:30, It's pretty obvious that your poor spelling and grammar are the least of your problems.

Anonymous said...

RETALEATINO

What language is this anyway??

Anonymous said...

Why did the Hartford Courant report on this hours before a Bristol Press story is even ready? I guess the Bristol Press reporter covering the police was too busy compiling a list to publish all the seatbelt violation tickets that were issued. Shame on the Bristol Press!

Anonymous said...

All of you people kill me. None of you have any idea how to do police work or conduct a proper criminal investigation according to established law. Ask any Judge, Prosecutor, or hell, even a defense attorney, if the police were prudent in this case by taking their (not there) time. Its not all about "he did it, arrest him." Shut up and get a clue before you open your ignorant mouths.

Steve Collins said...

10:51 -- I knew in March, after we published many stories that the police didn't like, that when the arrest came, the Courant or TV or whoever would have it before the Press. That's one way the cops try to zing reporters who bother them. I say whoop-de-doo. And it was on this blog an hour after the Courant had it online. This blog is part of The Bristol Press. So it wasn't hours later. It was an hour later.
Moreover, I trust Diane's story shot theirs out of the water.

Anonymous said...

Then shame on the Bristol Police for playing games!

Anonymous said...

Must be a cop informer on here so they missspeled a word you got the message didnt you. doesnt take three months only in bristol were all the cops are related to some offical. The bristol press did a great job if steve didnt stay on there case this would never come to a head .

Anonymous said...

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK STEVE AT LEASE YOU DONT CAVE IN TO THEM.THE PEOPLE IN BRISTOL MUST BE BLINDIF THEY DONT SEE THE WASTE IN THE POLICE DEPT. TIME AND MONEY COSTING THE TAX PAYERS AND A MAYOR AFRAID TO SAY ANYTHING FOR FEAR OF THE UNION.

Anonymous said...

TO: 5:28/5:55/7:30/7:40/6:50/6:56 (obviously all the same person) -

Honey, you really need to get off the computer and go to school.

Anonymous said...

The police did everything that they could while the guy was in rehab. They can't arrest someone that is in an active in-patient rehabilitation program. They had to wait until he got out.

Steve Collins said...

6:50 -- The Press did some good reporting on this case. Thank you for noticing.
But I don't think the police were pushed to act by anything we did. They decided from day one to build a solid case, piece by piece, and then arrest Park. That's what they did, too, despite some public pressure to move faster.
It's fair to argue whether the police approach was correct or not. I can see both sides on that. I don't think, though, it's right to suggest the police would have let this guy go or soft-peddled the charges. They wanted to throw the book at him and they thought the best way to make the charges stick was to take it slow and steady rather than rush an arrest.

Steve Collins said...

As for the suggestion that police can't arrest someone in rehab, that's simply absurd. It may make financial sense to leave 'em there, but if they want to make an arrest, they can.

Anonymous said...

Too many people watching CSI:Miami/New York/Las Vegas, it doesn't take 30 min. to investigate this type of case. Sometimes it takes over a year. This was actually very fast footwork...
DNA testing on "CSI:Miami" still takes 2 months...Use that brain 5:28 PM!!!

Anonymous said...

thank god this guy is finally behind bars.

now justice may properly be served.

-billy from bristol

Anonymous said...

STEVE THANK YOU THESE PEOPLE THINK THE PEOPLE IN BRISTOL ARE STUPID WE ARE IN AWAY WE LET THE POLICE GET AWAY WITH IT. WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM HERE WITH NO DIRECTION FOR THE COPS JUST A BUNCH OF HAS BEENS.

Anonymous said...

Steve- Please stop posting kudos to yourself under "anonymous" LOL. Just kidding, you know we love you or we wouldn't pick on you!! :)

メル友募集 said...

最近仕事ばかりで毎日退屈してます。そろそろ恋人欲しいです☆もう夏だし海とか行きたいな♪ k.c.0720@docomo.ne.jp 連絡待ってるよ☆