#Bridgeport CT–At 4:58pm Tuesday, February 18, 2020, the Bridgeport Emergency Communications Center received a call from a citizen reporting suspicious parties in a building in the 2200th block of Main Street. Upon arrival, the Bridgeport Police came across two men in an apartment later identified as Ta’Ron Pharr and Jaylen Wilson. As police began their questioning Pharr ran out of the apartment and after a short foot pursuit was apprehended. On his person was drug paraphernalia and during the pursuit, the officers recovered a firearm that Pharr had tossed. Wilson was arrested at the building with no incident.
Charges:
Ta’Ron Pharr DOB 9/23/1999 of Bridgeport- 53a-107 – CRIM TRESPASS 1 1 53a-167a – INTRFERE/RESIST 1 21a-278(a)+ – POSS W/INTENT 1 21a-279 – IL POSSESSION 1
Jaylen Wilson DOB 3/5/1999 of Bridgeport – 53a-107 – CRIM TRESPASS 1 1 21a-279 – IL POSSESSION 1 21a-278(a)+ – POSS W/INTENT 1
2020-02-20@6:55pm– #Bridgeport CT– A pizza delivery person hit a parked car at Park and Lincoln Avenue then flees. Oh, he left his license plate at the scene.
2020-02-20@10:30pm–#Bridgeport CT– Police observed two people attempting to break-in to a car in the 2400 block of Fairfield Avenue. After a short foot pursuit the two were captured and a firearm was also recovered.
2020-02-20@10:33am–#Fairfield CT– Firefighters at Bishop Curtis Homes at 1677 Post Road. A stove fire created a smoke condition in the hallways. Fire is now out!
HARTFORD, CT– On Thursday, February 20 at 10 AM at the Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade Office in Hartford, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will be touring Puerto Rico on Friday and Saturday to assess damage and hear from officials regarding recovery efforts following hurricanes Maria and Irma and the series of earthquakes over recent months, in particular the impacts the natural disasters have had upon the children of Puerto Rico.
Blumenthal will thank Yale-New Haven Health Northeast Medical Group physicians and staff who organized a humanitarian trip to Puerto Rico to deliver medical supplies. Americares has collaborated with physicians to transport these essential supplies.
Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 14 states today, authoring an amicus brief defending the right of states to keep their roads safe by issuing driver’s licenses to residents regardless of federal immigration status.
The case involves a challenge to New York’s Green Light Law by Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns. New York’s law, passed last June, authorizes the issuance of driver’s licenses to state residents without regard to immigration status. The partisan challenge wrongly claims that federal immigration law preempts New York’s state authority to issue those licenses.
The brief, filed by states that similarly offer licenses regardless of immigration status, argues that issuing and regulating personal driving credentials is a traditional and effective exercise of states’ constitutionally-protected power to promote residents’ safety and health. States have issued driver’s licenses since 1903, and no state conditioned driving on immigration status until 1993.
Connecticut started granting “drive only licenses” in 2015, which allow drivers to use the roads but cannot be used for federal purposes like boarding an airplane. Since then, there have been dramatic decreases in hit-and-run driving and citations for driving without a license.
The multistate coalition filed an initial amicus brief in the case last August with the federal district court for the Western District of New York. That court dismissed the challenge. The case is now before the federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
“Drivers should pass a road test, get a license, and get insurance. That’s what keeps Connecticut residents safe on the roads. Immigration status has nothing to do with it. States like Connecticut and New York are clearly protected by the federal Constitution in making this important policy choice, which measurably improves public safety,” said Attorney General Tong. “This case has already been dismissed by the district court, and we will continue to defend public safety and smart policy through this appeal.”
By passing the Green Light Law last June, New York became the fifteenth state or territory to authorize driver’s licenses for immigrants. Right now, 123 million Americans – 37% of all people in the United States – live in a state or territory that issues licenses regardless of immigration status. The New York lawsuit, if successful, could open the door to an unprecedented federal interference with states’ traditional prerogative to grant driver’s licenses.
In addition to New York and Connecticut, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and Washington all credential driver’s without proof of immigration status.
As of August 2019, Connecticut had issued 54,045 “drive-only” licenses. In the years after the law’s implementation, hit-and-run accidents statewide fell by nine percent; there has been a 23.7 percent decrease statewide in the number of arrests and citations for driving without a license; and the Drive-Only license program brought in approximately $13.81 million for the state treasury.
Joining Attorney General Tong in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
Special Counsel for Civil Rights Joshua Perry is assisting the Attorney General with this matter.
Hold on to your wallet, the Connecticut legislators are back in session. Senator Dennis Bradley took time to tell the DoingItLocal viewers what he finds to be important items in the upcoming session. He’s excited that there is a solid proposal to bring a casino and sports betting to Bridgeport. As a pastor’s son he believes that adults can make up their own minds on whether to immunize their children. He also thinks that tolls is just another way to tax the middle class. Before you comment, make sure you watch the video on why he thinks this way!
