HARTFORD, Conn. (AP / WCBS 880) -- A Connecticut judge rejected a pyrotechnics distributor's request Thursday that would have forced state police to release fireworks and sparklers they confiscated during recent raids.
Hartford Superior Court Judge Nina Elgo ruled that Ohio-based B.J. Alan Co. failed to prove its argument, and said that police have an obligation to enforce state law.
State troopers confiscated fireworks and sprinklers from at least five roadside locations last weekend, saying they were illegal under state law.
B.J. Alan Co. argued Connecticut's legislature erred when it set regulations on the pyrotechnic mixture allowed in sparklers sold in the state.
They asked the judge for a temporary injunction that would have forced troopers to return about $120,000 worth of fireworks and sparklers in time to be sold for Independence Day celebrations.
Proloy K. Das, an attorney for the Ohio-based pyrotechnics maker, told Elgo during oral arguments Thursday that the seizure was invalid because the items were taken without a warrant and other legal procedures.
``Every day, every minute, this product is locked away. This requires immediate action,'' he said Thursday.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who argued the state's case, said the company blatantly violated state laws enacted to protect public safety.
``There was clearly a basis and obligation to act as they did,'' he said of the troopers who confiscated the items.
Under Connecticut law, sparklers are illegal if they contain more than 100 grams of pyrotechnic mixture and if it's explosive or projects in the air.
