Connecticut, Stamford | featured news

STAMFORD — An apparent misunderstanding by family and friends has fueled a social media firestorm over police response to an 18-year-old Stamford man who prompted the lockdown of an elementary school this week.

A woman on Twitter who identified herself as the man’s sister posted a photo of him with a neck brace and a cut on his forehead, alleging a case of brutality by city police, who took the man into custody behind Rogers International School on Monday morning following several 911 calls about a man acting irrationally outside the elementary school.

STAMFORD — An electrician working on a traffic signal was thrown from his bucket and left dangling above a busy Waterside street this week.

Sgt. Andrew Gallagher said the man escaped serious injury because he was wearing a harness attached to the bucket when a cement truck struck his vehicle while he was hoisted 20 feet above the ground Tuesday morning.

“Thank goodness the worker was following safety protocols and had his harness attached,” Gallagher said.

HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday offered a sermon on fairness, using his final State of the State address to push back at President Donald Trump’s policies and boost his own agenda and legacy.

"We find ourselves at a defining moment in our history, as a state and as a nation," Malloy told a joint session of the General Assembly.

"We can no-longer afford the luxury of silence, or the alluring comfort of the status quo,” Malloy continued.

The city is hosting its second free flu vaccination clinic for children and adults on Saturday.

The clinic is 9 to 11 a.m. at the Stamford Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd. No appointment is needed.

Stamford’s event is part of a statewide campaign launched by the Department of Public Health in response to the severe flu season.

Flu season begins in late fall and usually peaks in mid to late winter and can continue through early spring. The virus is expected to circulate for several more months, so officials are urging residents to get a vaccination if they haven’t already.

STAMFORD-Police investigators are looking into how a near three-month old baby was seriously injured on Stamford’s East Side Tuesday.

Medics were called to the baby’s home on William Street at about 3 p.m. because the baby was unresponsive, Sgt. Joseph Kennedy said.

Police were notified by Stamford Hospital employees once the baby was diagnosed with what Kennedy would only describe as head trauma. “I’m not at liberty to tell you more about the injury at this time,” Kennedy said.

STAMFORD — A city man convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in the mall parking garage more than 10 years ago has been arrested for violating his probation.

Brien Pennell faces up to seven and a half years in prison after police say his probation officer discovered he was in possession of electronic and other devices. Sgt. Joseph Kennedy said Pennell was not allowed to have these items until his probation ends in 2023.

“This is typical of what a child pornographer does,” Kennedy said.

HARTFORD — The General Assembly’s Democratic leaders on Tuesday vowed to bring electronic highway tolls to a vote while laying out a progressive agenda that includes increasing the minimum wage, mandating paid family leave and creating tuition free community colleges.

"I am proud to stand here as we unveil our Democratic Values Agenda," said Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven.

An ex-con fisherman from Maine who was stopped for a traffic infraction on I-95 was busted for allegedly being in possession of two semi-automatic pistols, crack cocaine and a small amount of heroin at the Darien rest stop early Sunday afternoon.

According to a press release from state police, troopers patrolling the interstate in Darien at noon spotted a 2012 Hyundai Sonata commit a motor vehicle violation. After the Sonata pulled over at the rest stop, the troopers determined there were possible drugs in the vehicle.

STAMFORD — An allegedly emotionally disturbed man caused some alarm at Rogers International School on Monday morning, forcing administrators into a lockdown shortly after classes began.

Stamford police say someone noticed the man acting irrationally outside the school at about 9:30 a.m. and the person warned school officials, who immediately locked the school down.

Police were called and they found the man at the back of the school near a rear door. The man was not cooperative with the police and kept telling responding officers that he had been sent by God and was in search of souls.

HARTFORD - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday proposed changes to the state budget that restores $4.3 billion in planned transportation projects, cancels proposed Metro-North fare hikes and service cuts and places electronic tolls on state highways.

The proposed adjustments to the current two-year state budget also wipes out the $200 personal property tax exemption, creates a new 25-cent deposit on wine and spirit bottles and eliminates education cost sharing for the 33 wealthiest communities.