February 16th, 2022
Hartford Public Library strives to create safe and welcoming spaces for our community, and for our staff. We are all deeply saddened and distressed that one of our valued front-line employees was assaulted earlier today while performing his duties as a safety officer. We are working with our colleagues at the Hartford Police Department to identify the person or persons responsible. Our commitment to our staff and public is unwavering.
We believe this assault to be an isolated incident and do not believe there is any danger to any other library employee or customers at this time. The Downtown Library was closed for the remainder of the day out of an abundance of caution and to aid the Hartford Police Department in their investigation.
Hartford Public Library values all our staff and understands the challenges they face working on the front lines to deliver vital services to the Hartford community. We continually work with UConn and the City of Hartford to ensure the safety of our buildings for our staff and customers.
Our thoughts are with the employee who was harmed and we wish him a speedy recovery. We are also thinking of all of our employees and the public we serve who were impacted by this distressing event and will be providing them with the support they need.