Bridgeport Cops Terrorize Black Family - Overseers (officers) Assault brothers in front of home, Arrest parents & Conduct Warrantless House Search

From [HERE] and [HERE] A Black family of five has filed a complaint with the city's Office of Internal Affairs after a brawl with police that resulted in the 52-year-old father getting shot with a stun gun and police kicking down doors to arrest the entire family. Police Chief Joseph Gaudett (white man in photo) said he sees no need to place Oficer Rivera, Carrano or Sgt. Sean Lynch, who fired the stun gun, on administrative duty for the following conduct: 

The incident began after brothers Dennis and Eric Jennings went outside in the frigid temperatures for a cigarette break at their parents' Pleasant Street home Jan. 23. As they stood in front of their house, Police Officers David Rivera and John Carrano drove by and told them to stop hanging out. Horace Jennings, the father, said the officers only stopped and approached the men because they were black males standing in a Black neighborhood. But police said they pulled over to tell the Jennings to move along and stop "blocking free passage on the sidewalk" in front of the gate of the house. 

In their account of the fracas, the family claims Rivera and Carrano were hostile from the moment they approached Bernard, 29, Dennis, 27, and Eric, 23, and ordered them off the sidewalk. "We weren't causing any problems," Bernard Jennings said. "We didn't commit any crime."

But in his report, Rivera said Dennis Jennings cursed at the officers when they asked them to move. The officers grabbed Dennis, who was already inside the gated property by that point (complying with the officer's request), when he moved toward the home and refused to approach them when asked, police said.

This prompted the family members to come out of the house cursing and yelling, and the officers to call for backup, police said. Then, as Rivera apprehended Dennis, Eric Jennings ran inside to get his parents.

At that point, Horace Jennings was shot at close range in the back by Sgt. Sean Lynch with a stun gun after police said he grabbed Rivera's shoulder and reached for the electric gun in the officer's holster.

Horace, who works for the state Department of Motor Vehicles, said he didn't see the police report until Thursday afternoon; he said he was outraged he was accused of grabbing a police officer. He said the lies in the report are the reason Blacks and Latinos in Bridgeport don't talk to police.

"The same ones supposed to be protecting you are no good," he said. "When it comes to white people, it's protect and serve. But when it comes to blacks and Hispanics, it's track and hunt."

Eric Jennings said when he saw his father lying on the ground, he called 911. "Bernard said to me, `Why are you calling the police? They're the ones out there,' " he said. "And I said, `Yeah we need a new batch.' "

Police said they arrested Margaret Jennings -- the mother -- for taking items out of her husband's pockets despite police protests. She said she was searching for her husband's keys because by then there were dozens of officers at the scene and they were threatening to break down her front door.

She claimed she was arrested for looking defiantly at Rivera when the officer who had used the stun gun on her husband asked his fellow officer, "He tried to grab you, right?"

"The officer couldn't lie because I was looking him right in the face," she said. "Next thing I knew, I was handcuffed, going to a police car and thinking, `Is this really happening to me?' " She is now worried the arrest will give the city a reason to fire her after 17 years on the payroll with the Bridgeport Board of Education. "I've never hurt anybody," she said. "I don't want my life destroyed by lies."

Meanwhile, police said Eric Jennings, who they knew had a valid pistol permit, yelled threats at police from inside the family home. Concerned about the valid gun, which was never displayed, (emphasis all BW) police said they had to kick in two doors to gain entry.

Police knew the young man had the permit because he was pulled over recently (by the same officers?) when the vehicle he was a passenger in was stopped because it matched the description of one involved in a shooting, police said.

At the time, Eric's friend, nicknamed "Coco," was arrested in connection with the shooting.

Police said they found Eric Jennings' gun in plain view during their warrantless search.

Eric denied ever threatening police or leaving his resgistered gun out in the open.

All family members were charged with breach of peace and interfering with an officer. Eric Jennings was also charged with unsafe storage of a firearm and threatening in the first degree.

The Jennings first contacted city officials about the incident by email and fax.

"As soon as Mayor (Bill) Finch received Mr. Jennings' communication on Jan. 28, he immediately ordered our Office of Internal Affairs to reach out to Mr. Jennings to investigate his complaint," said mayoral spokeswoman Elaine Ficarra.

"We would urge any member of the public who has a complaint against an officer(s), such as misfeasance, malfeasances, excessive force, or police misconduct, to utilize the Citizens Complaint process so that the Office of Internal Affairs can initiate an investigation in a timely and thorough manner," Ficcarra said. "Our officers are held to high standards, and the Office of Internal Affairs is in place to provide an avenue to investigate both internal and citizen complaints."

Later that day, the couple filled out an official form through the city's Citizens Complaint process.

The state branch of the NAACP is aware of the case and is considering pressuring city officials to take action, especially in light of the Beardsley Park attack, said the group's president, Scot X. Esdaile.

The incident at the East Side home occurred the same week a YouTube video surfaced of Bridgeport police officers kicking and stomping a man in Beardsley Park after he was shot with an electric stun gun. The man, Orlando Lopez-Soto, had allegedly led police on a high-speed chase to the park. There is no mention in the police report of the beating by the officers and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has called for their arrest.

Lopez-Soto, the victim in the Beardsley Park beating, filed a $1 million lawsuit in federal court on Monday. (see story below).