Connecticut Carry - Press Release - Hartford Fire Lieutenant Arrested on Hysterical

Hartford Fire Lieutenant Arrested on Hysterical Gun Charges
Connecticut Carry Monitoring Ongoing Case

Hartford, CT, July 7, 2013: On October 1st, 2013 Hartford Police arrested Michael Patterson and charged him with Breach of Peace, Threatening in the Second Degree and 29 felony counts of Risk of Injury to a Child. Hartford police state the cause for the 29 felony charges is for 29 unloaded firearms being allegedly left accessible in the home where they claim a child resided with ammunition in some sort of close proximity.

It is questionable why the Hartford Police Department would make an arrest based on the circumstances that they have used to publicly smear Lieutenant Patterson. The Connecticut General Statutes are quite clear on this issue, and the legislature did not change the relevant elements of the ‘safe storage’ statute when they repealed it and substituted new language on 4/4/2013. CGS §29-37i specifically addresses the storage of loaded firearms, not unloaded.

Accordingly, CGS §53a-217a is a criminal statute that addresses violations of the aforementioned ‘safe storage law’ which spells out a class D felony for a child gaining access to an improperly stored firearm that results in injury or death. The reality of this case is far from a violation of either statute, so instead, the Hartford Police Department decided to charge Mr. Patterson with 29 counts of a more serious class C felony. This disparity means that the Hartford Police Department believes that Mr. Patterson committed a crime worth far more than 29 times the punishment of leaving a loaded firearm for a child to access that results in injury or death when there is zero indication that the firearm was ever accessible or accessed by any child, never mind any injury or death being a result.

With the ridiculous charges applied to Mr. Patterson, he faces a potential sentence of 1 to 10 years and up to $10,000 for each charge. This is twice the potential penalty of Criminally Negligent Storage of a Firearm. A child never gained access to his firearms, and yet he could face up to 290 years in prison and up to $290,000 in fines.

Connecticut Carry plans to monitor this case along with the others we are currently working on to make sure that justice prevails and Mr. Patterson is given his fair day in court. A day in court where the Hartford Police Department will have to answer for their overzealous and hysterical prosecution of a law abiding citizen.

A hearing open to the public will take place in the Hartford GA14 courthouse on October 16th at 10:00 am. Connecticut Carry encourages members of the public and the media to attend the hearing. It should be educational and enlightening.

The officers learned that Paterson had several guns registered in his name. Paterson took the officers into a bedroom where 26 firearms were found unsecured, most lying on a 7-year-old's bed, police said. A large amount of ammunition was also found in the room.

Three other firearms were found in a gun safe in the basement, police said. Detectives are still trying to account for other firearms registered to Paterson at addresses in Hartford, Bloomfield and South Carolina, Foley said.

Paterson has been cooperating with the investigation, Foley said.

from: http://articles.courant.com/2013-10...-news-hartford-fire-department-firearms-found




53a-181 BREACH OF PEACE 2ND DEG B Misdemeanor 1 10/1/2013
53a-62 THREATENING 2ND DEG A Misdemeanor 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013
53-21 RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD C Felony 1 10/1/2013

That's a lot of charges lol.

Looks like the 16th will be an arraignment? These are mundane affairs really. Nothing of significance.

He was arrested 1 OCT 13.
from:
http://www.jud2.ct.gov/crdockets/Ca...ding&Key=411b1f2a-1c36-4930-b068-5554eb03cea1

this is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard. i can garuntee you that my 7 year old would know how to arm/safe, dissassemble, clean, and RESPECT every single one of those.. and thats a crime? haha.. :banghead: welcome to the USA

"most lying on a 7-year-old's bed, police said."

yeah? which officer swore to this particular fact? were they perhaps "mistaken" due to a game of telephone?

i wonder whether this is a bid to define the term "loaded" more broadly than it is currently stated in the statute.

ammo "near" a firearm versus "in the magazine, chamber or barrel" is a HUGE difference.

He was home at the time they came? Guns laying on a bed, therefore, are not in storage. The collection was out of storage, currently being admired. What's the problem?