As many as 8,000 police officers are expected at a memorial service Friday in Hartford for Trooper Kenneth Hall, who was killed recently in a traffic accident in Enfield.
The State Capitol police issued the estimate Thursday in an e-mail to Capitol employees and others regarding the preparations for the memorial service. Officers from around the country and beyond - as far away as California and Canada - are expected at the State Armory, which is adjacent to the state Capitol complex.
Capitol employees are being told they should not expect to be able to leave the parking garage at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. due to the heavy traffic from the memorial service. The service is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
Various streets will be shut down for four hours around the armory, according to the Capitol police. Those include Broad Street between Capitol Avenue and the Interstate 84 east on-ramp, which is across the street from The Hartford Courant headquarters and adjacent to the armory. In addition, Capitol Avenue will be closed between Broad Street and the Interstate 84 west on-ramp, which is about halfway between the Capitol and the Legislative Office Building.
On Thursday morning, state troopers gathered outside the armory for briefings as a landscaping crew cleaned up the small park directly across the street from the armory.
Many officials, including Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the entire membership of the state legislature's public safety committee, are expected to attend the service.