Lock damaged at police impound lot in Hartford

By Rebecca Lurye

HARTFORD — Hartford police are taking inventory of their impound lot after a possible break-in to determine whether any vehicles being held as evidence were stolen or damaged, Lt. Paul Cicero said Friday.

Hartford blogger Kevin Brookman was first to report the incident Thursday. Citing anonymous sources in the police department, Brookman wrote that burglars took multiple ATVs and quads, or four-wheelers, from a lot on Jennings Road, where there are several municipal facilities.

OnFriday, Cicero confirmed that the supervisor of the police property roomis conducting an audit of the impound lot.

“It appears as though there was damage to a lock,” he said.

Cicero did not know when the damage was discovered or whether the supervisor has confirmed if any vehicles were stolen.

This incident comesless than two months after the Hartford Public Safety complex was hit with vandalism, also made public by Brookman’s blog.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested in the caper. Police say he jumped a fence to access the top floor of the parking garage, where he tagged vehicles with spray paint, then likely shimmied downtheside of the parking garage before spraying 13 more vehicles.

The incident also drew attention to a broken gate at the High Street entrance to the Public Safety Complex, though it turned out the teen did not use the unsecured entrance.

Rebecca Lurye can be reached at rlurye@courant. com.