An internal investigation into a Hartford police officer found that he lied on activity reports that he filed about traffic stops, according to police.
Police said the officer told investigators that he did it so he didn’t disappoint his supervisors.
Hartford police released a memo from internal affairs that was sent to Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody that said Officer Michael Fallon was found to have reported more traffic stops than he made and he falsely reported information on an arrest warrant related to a traffic stop.
This comes after an audit of Fallon’s reports from Dec. 18 through Jan. 14, which found that he reported an additional 25 motor vehicle stops that he did not conduct and 13 infractions that he didn’t issue.
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During a meeting about the discrepancies in his reports, Fallon said he lied on his activity reports over the four-week span because he did not want to disappoint his supervisors with a limited amount of activity, according to the internal affairs report.
It says that between Jan. 2, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022, Fallon reported 575 motor vehicle stops when he made 347 and said he issued 31 infractions more than he did.
The investigation also found that he incorrectly reported the driver’s gender 12 times and the incorrect race 19 times, but it was not clear whether that was intentional or an error.
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Fallon resigned on March 6 before he could be interviewed and face discipline, according to police.
Fallon is accused of violating the code of conduct; knowingly and willfully making a false entry in any department or other official report or record; negligent entry in any bureau, division, or department record; negligent failure to comply with any lawful orders, procedures, directives, or regulations, oral or written and failure to properly identify, collect, or preserve evidence in a timely fashion due to carelessness or neglect.
The Hartford Police Department notified the Police Standards and Training Council to initiate the decertification process.
They said they also notified Ken Barone, of the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, who determined that Fallon’s reporting issues were not “statistically significant” in relation to the overall racial profiling data submitted by the department.
