Former state Rep. Victor Cuevas was arrested and charged with second-degree breach of peace by Waterbury Police in connection with an August incident in which Cuevas reportedly confronted and made homophobic comments to a local man. The incident was captured on a video that was widely circulated.
Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said Wednesday that Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen Platt determined the encounter with Efrain Torres, a former Republican Board of Aldermen candidate, was found to be a hate incident and did not rise to the level of a criminal violation.
Speaking in general and not about this particular case, Michael Bloom, Hate Crimes Initiative coordinator for the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said a hate incident means that “bias was in play and that someone made a hostile expression that was motivated by bias whether it was against a protected class, gender, national origin, religion, ethnicity.
“There was no direct threat or crime directed at that person,” Bloom continued.
Spagnolo said Cuevas turned himself in on a warrant Tuesday and was released on $20,000 bail. Cuevas was on probation at the time of his arrest.
According to the arrest affidavit of Cuevas, the former representative was almost finished with probation and had no issues in probation.
In video footage sent to the Courant, Torres, who was running in the 5th district, is seen on a video on Aug. 22 walking downtown by the Republican Town Committee’s headquarters when Cuevas confronts him asking him “What did you call me?” followed by expletives. He then proceeds to make derogatory comments with no response from Torres, except to say “See you later.”
Torres previously called the incident a hate crime.
Torres told the Courant, “I don’t have a comment at this moment, but everything in its due time.”
The incident was reported by Waterbury Officer Adrian Sanchez, who was Torres’ opponent and was off duty at the time, according to Spagnolo. Sanchez won in the November election and is now a Board of Aldermen member.
Torres claims that Cuevas heavily smeared his name, along with other members of the city’s Republican Party including Waterbury RTC Chairwoman Dawn Maiorano.
Torres has alleged that Cuevas has stalked him repeatedly.
In contrast, Cuevas alleges that Torres instigated the fight, explaining that he came into the Republican headquarters and held up his taxes and said, “I paid my taxes” followed by expletives.
Torres has claimed that he did not instigate the incident.
Maiorano said in an email what happened to Cuevas and Sanchez “raises serious questions about the weaponization of the Waterbury Police Department against individuals who do not align with the administration’s politics, perspectives or way of conducting business.”
“It is important to note that at the very same time this arrest warrant was being issued, Alderman-Sergeant Adrian Sanchez was placed on notice that he, too, was under investigation—allegedly for being late to work while attending an unprecedented seven hour Board of Aldermen meeting, his first as a sitting alderman,” Maiorano said.
Both men were involved in the same incident for which Cuevas was served a warrant, Maiorano continued.
“The timing of these parallel actions is, at the very least, troubling,” she said.
She asked if Torres was also issued an arrest warrant for breach of peace, explaining that if not, the public deserves to know why.
In response, Spagnolo said police conducted a thorough investigation.
“We consulted with the state’s attorney’s office,” Spagnolo said. “It was evident that probable cause existed for the charges that were levied against him and the arrest warrant was applied for. It went through a process of review through a state’s attorney and through a sitting Superior Court judge who found probable cause existed to effect that arrest so the warrant was served.”
Spagnolo said that Sanchez is not under investigation.
“He was scheduled to work the night of the Board of Aldermen meeting,” he said. “He did show up to work three hours late. The city and the taxpayers of the city are not obligated to pay Sgt. Sanchez to conduct his business and his aspirations as a politician when he is supposed to be working.”
Spagnolo said there was discipline meted out to Sanchez for his actions and violations of Waterbury Police Department policies.
Spagnolo said there is no weaponization and no lack of transparency.
Mayor Paul Pernerewski referred to Maiorano’s comments as typical “nonsense from Dawn.”
“There is no politics and the fact that both of those gentlemen are engaged in politics does not absolve them to follow the law and the policies of the city of Waterbury,” the mayor said.