Probe Sought Against African American Judge E. Curtissa R. Cofield, 59, For Alleged Use of Racial Epithet During Arrest

UPDATE

The video of Judge Coffield's rants were shown in court this morning. Here is a transcript of her disturbing statements.

At 2:17 a.m. on Oct. 10, nearly two hours into the booking at headquarters, Cofield is seated at a desk and calls her husband on her cellphone. Washington, who like Cofield is black, is standing about 3 feet away.

Her end of the conversation, in part, is: "I don't need a ride home. ... I'm a criminal. ... What? What? ... Well, they got the head n----- in charge and he … Which one, the head n----- in charge? … Washington. OK. That's H-N-I-G...."

Then she hands the phone to Washington, who talks to her husband about getting the car off the highway. Washington asks, "Do you guys have Triple-A?"

Hearing that, Cofield interjects: "Oh, no. We don't. We're ghetto Negroes. We don't have Triple-A."

Earlier, when asked if she was injured, Cofield replied: "Yeah, I am. I'm humiliated by your f-----g attitude."

Asked if she was ill, Cofield replied, "I'm sick of being treated like a freaking Negro from the 'hood," and added: "Write it down, write it. Did you hear what I just said?"

Asked what her illness was, Cofield said: "Negro-itis."

"Do you need to take any medication now?" Washington asked.

"Yeah, I need to take anti-Negro, ummm ..."

When he asked what she weighed, Cofield replied: "Why don't you look at me, tell what you think?"

Asked how much alcohol she had had that day, Cofield replied: "I had no alcohol to drink, Mr. Washington."

Cofield often talked over Washington as he tried to question her, saying again and again that she needed to go to the bathroom. Washington politely insisted that she answer the questions first, and said that she could get to the bathroom sooner if she did so.

"That's your interpretation, but we'll see what they say in court, won't we, Mr. Washington?" she said.

Washington asked if she was willing to take an intoxication test. She replied: "Mr. Negro Washington. I need to go to the bathroom, and then I will take the test."

"It's Sgt. Washington," he replied, adding, "Don't disrespect me, and I won't disrespect you."

At another moment, after she had given a urine sample, Cofield asked Washington: "Do you have a reading on my urine test, Negro trooper?"

When asked to sign a form that she understood her rights, Cofield said, "I'm not signing anything, because when it comes down to the bottom line, who's smarter — me or you? We'll figure it out, won't we?"

Asked if she took any drugs, Cofield responded: "Oh, yeah, I'm a crack addict. Do I look like that to you?"

Then she directed her attention to the first state trooper on the scene of her accident and asked him, "Can you tell me why you came first, and then you had to bring him [Washington]? Is it because you had to make this valid by bringing a Negro?"

According to the Hartford Courant, the co-chairman of the state legislature's judiciary committee wants a full review of allegations that Judge E. Curtissa R. Cofield, 59, who was charged with drunken driving last month angrily hurled epithets at police officers during her arrest, called a black state police sergeant nigger and told officers she was a state judge.

Judge Cofield, who is black, also referred to state police Sgt. Dwight Washington as "Negro Washington" during her Oct. 9 arrest — which was captured by police video recorders — Courant columnist Kevin Rennie, a lawyer and former state legislator, wrote in his column in Sunday's Courant."Assuming it's true that she made those extremely racist comments, that can't be tolerated — from a judge, of all people," state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, said Monday.

Nothing was said of Cofield's alleged conduct during her appearance Monday in Superior Court in Manchester, where Judge William Bright Jr. delayed a decision on her application to a pretrial alcohol-education program until Dec. 8. Those who are admitted to and successfully complete the program, open only to first-time offenders, will have their record of arrest wiped clean.

Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events in the judicial system. A judge allegedly calling a cop a nigger. Wow. They ought to kick her off the bench for drunk driving. She does not need to walk away from this with a slap on the wrist. She is a public threat. I wish the courts were so forgiving when a regular person has committed the same acts as this judge allegedly did. I agree with Mr. Lawlor's statement that Judge Bright should see the video of Cofield's arrest.

"At minimum, I would certainly expect that under the circumstances the judge would review the videotape before deciding whether Judge Cofield should be admitted to the program," Lawlor said.

It's appropriate, Lawlor said, for the judge to consider an applicant's demeanor during arrest and the injuries anyone suffered. "In this particular case, the comments are troubling," he said. "Beneath the surface there's more to the story than just someone who had too much to drink."The state Judicial Review Council should also open an investigation, if it hasn't already, Lawlor said.

According to a state police incident report, Cofield drove her 2003 BMW X5 into Kowal's state cruiser, which was parked in the right shoulder protecting a construction zone. Cofield was taken to the Glastonbury police station for processing and was charged with driving under the influence and failure to drive in the proper lane. Her comments were captured on a video and audio monitoring system at the Glastonbury police station. This woman needs to be removed from the bench. It is so important for voters to know about the judges they are voting for. The last person who need on any bench is an alcoholic and someone who is quick to use racial epithets. No need to have a ticking time bomb handing down sentences to anyone.