Fallen Hartford officer remembered for his smile, someone who was ‘always laughing’

Fallen Hartford police Officer Robert Garten enjoyed filled his free time by hanging out with friends and occasionally catching a Harvard Yard Goats game.

Fallen Hartford police Officer Robert “Bobby” Garten is remembered as always having a smile on his face and laughing his way through life no matter what happened by one of his friends and former fellow officers at the department.

“No matter what you said to him you could not get this guy mad,” said Musa Chukadze, who met Garten about eight years ago when the former lived in Hartford. “He was just always smiling and laughing.”

Chukadze was looking to get into law enforcement and knew several members of the Hartford Police Department before meeting Garten right around the time he joined the force. Garten, 34, was an eight-year veteran of the department.

“He was very smart and such a people person,” said Chukadze, who joined the department in 2020 and worked as a Hartford officer for about two years before leaving to join another department out of state. “He was a very by-the-book, brilliant person.”

CT mourns officer killed after fleeing driver strikes police cruiser in Hartford

Garten was killed Wednesday night when the police cruiser he was riding in was struck by 18-year-old Richard Barrington, who police say fled a traffic stop and ran multiple red lights before hitting a cruiser with its lights and sirens activated on its way to an unrelated call for service. Officer Brian Kearney, who was driving the police cruiser, was also seriously injured and was listed in stable but guarded condition in St. Francis Hospital, police said Thursday. Hartford Police Lt. Aaron Boisvert on Friday said he did not have an official update on Kearney’s condition.

Barrington remains held on a $1 million bond after facing a judge Thursday in Hartford Superior Court on charges of failure to obey a traffic control signal, failure to renew registration, misuse of plates, operating without insurance and interfering with an officer.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Friday said Garten died of blunt injuries to the torso, neck, head and extremities. His death was ruled an accident.

“You always need to understand that it’s possible something like this would happen, but it’s still so unexpected,” Chukadze said, reflecting on the dangerous profession a police officer faces. “It shouldn’t happen to anybody, but we never expected it to happen to Bobby.”

According to Chukadze, Garten loved spending time with friends whether it was just hanging out, going out to West Hartford or catching a Hartford Yard Goats game. He described the fallen officer as a “low-key” person with a “goofy personality.”

“Oh, and he loved Bud Light,” Chukadze said. “He was always holding a Bud Light. He wouldn’t drink anything else.”

As hard as it is to lose a friend, Chukadze said he really feels for Garten’s family.

“That’s what really matters,” he said.

Garten’s death immediately drew sympathy and offers to help in any way from numerous police departments across the state. A memorial outside the police department grew on Friday with flowers, handwritten notes and other effects as people visited to pay their respects.

New Haven police on Friday said their department had comfort dogs and their peer support team in Hartford as officers there grapple with the loss of one of their own.

“It’s the profession,” New Haven Sgt. Cherelle Carr said. “We feel it just as much as if it’s our own. We feel very sorrowful for them and their families.”

Stephen Tavares, chief of the Eastern Connecticut State University Police Department, said working in law enforcement comes with the understanding that if another department experiences tragedy everyone else will be there to “offer any assistance we can,” whether it’s paying respects at a fallen officer’s funeral or offering coverage for the department if officers there need to take time off to grieve.

“Anything to make the process easier as Hartford officers and their families grieve,” said Tavares, who spent 26 years with the Bristol Police Department before retiring to become ECSU’s chief of police.

The response being seen by law enforcement across the state as Hartford mourns the loss of Garten is very similar to the one seen in the wake of two Bristol police officers being gunned down last October.

“You’re in that fraternity,” Tavares said of police coming together when one of their brothers or sisters perishes. “You’re part of a fraternity that’s doing the right thing for the right reasons and trying to serve justice. And as we’ve seen, at times that comes with the ultimate price.”

Hartford police Chief Jason Thody on Thursday said he received a visit from the chief of the Bristol Police Department, Brian Gould, who continues to navigate his department through tragedy in light of losing two officers in the line of duty last October.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Hartford Police Department and will do everything possible to support them as they navigate these difficult times,” Gould told The Courant. “The Hartford Police Department was one of the many police agencies that came to our aid in October 2022. (Their) immense support and continued support was and is truly appreciated.

“When tragedies such as these occur, we rely on each other for assistance. Hartford police are always there for others and now it is time for us to pay forward in any way possible,” Gould added, noting that other Bristol officers have reached out to those in Hartford to offer support.

“On behalf of the Bristol Police Department, we are with you (Hartford police) and we will always be here for you,” said Gould. “We join you to never forget the sacrifice of Officer Robert “Bobby” Garten and Officer Brian Kearney, whom we hope for a full recovery.”