Cops Consider Vote Vs. ​“Chicago 3”

Upset in part about delayed new rifles and vests and an incident involving handling of confidential informants, rank-and-file police officers are considering holding a no-confidence vote against the three men running their department.

The police union will consider the question at a 7:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday at the Marchegian Club on Cedar Street. On the agenda: Whether to hold an all-day vote of no confidence in Chief Frank Limon and Assistant Chiefs Thomas Wheeler and Tobin Hensgen. The three Chicago police veterans arrived in New Haven from Chicago last year to take over the city’s troubled department.

Sgt. Richard Miller, secretary of police union Local 530, informed rank and file about the upcoming meeting at Monday afternoon’s line-up.

Union brass decided to act upon what they said has been a flood of requests for a no-confidence vote.

Union President Sgt. Louis Cavaliere said Tuesday that morale is at an all-time low.

“The three chiefs do not belong in this police department,” Cavaliere said. ​“The ​‘Chicago 3’ will be on trial so to speak to see if the rank and file want them. This will send a message to the person who hired them, [Mayor] John DeStefano.”

DeStefano declined comment on the matter Tuesday.

The union first considered holding a no-confidence vote, against just Chief Limon, last September. The union leadership then reported that Limon had agreed to meet with them to improve communication and address backed-up grievances about new work rules, among other complaints; the no-confidence vote (which is non-binding on the chief) was put on indefinite hold.

Relations between the chiefs and the union have only worsened since then, Cavaliere said. They don’t talk. And grievances continue to mount.

Several recent concerns helped spark the new request for a vote. In one case, the chief had called two officers, Lt. Thaddeus Reddish and Officer Charles Gargano, to his office. He wanted to speak to them about encounters they’d had on the street with a man who turned out to be one of the department’s confidential informants.

“They were told to lay off him if you see him,” according to Sgt. Miller.

According to the union, the officers requested to have a union representative present but were denied permission. They have since filed a grievance. Cavaliere said that under due-process ​“Weingarten rights” established in a National Labor Relations Board case, employees can request to have a union representative present at a meeting they feel could lead to discipline — whether or not the boss considers it a disciplinary meeting.

Also, officers have been complaining that they haven’t received new AR-15 rifles and bulletproof vests ordered under the previous chief, James Lewis.

Cavaliere said the union learned that the city has diverted money from buying needed ammunition for the rifles to computer technology instead. He said the city hasn’t provided confirmation of that fact as required under the union contract.

“I’m all for computer technology,” Miller said. ​“But [the rifles and vests] are needed on the street.”

In an interview Tuesday, Chief Limon dismissed the union allegations as ​“inaccurate.”

“There was never a request for a union rep by the parties involved” at the meeting about the informant, Limon said. ​“Nobody said, ​‘Hey, I want a union rep.’ If I can’t have a meeting about any issues involving patrol without a union rep … There was nothing involving discipline. I’ve already gone over this with the union director. It’s over with. If they want an answer, they should call the [city] labor director.”

Limon called the story about the bullets ​“absolutely” untrue.

“As far as the rifles and all that, that was all purchased under Chief Lewis,” the chief said. ​“I told the union three times that we have not reappropriated any money for technology. I don’t know why they keep bringing this up. The rifles are down at the police academy. We’re just developing policy and training to deploy them out in the field.”

Limon said he goes ​“out of my way to put officer safety first.” He also said he has an ​“open-door policy” under which union officials can come talk to him any time.

Budget Backdrop

He suggested the pending vote might be an act of ​“deflection” on the part of union leaders: ​“focusing attention on me instead of looking at the big picture of what they’re supposed to be doing.”

The dispute arises against a backdrop of negotiations over a new police union contract; the current contract runs out in June. The mayor is seeking new rules on pensions and health care, a prospect that has dismayed veteran cops. Last year cops retired at an average age of 52. Under current rules, cops receive pensions based on the money they earned in the past year, including overtime, not just their salaries; and top cops can retire at the salary grade for the position above the one they held. For instance, Assistant Chief Ariel Melendez is retiring with a $124,500 annual pension; his current salary is $105,000. DeStefano said Tuesday that he won’t hire a new assistant chief to replace Melendez until those pension rules change.

Officers have also grumbled about internal affairs investigations into civilian complaints about harassment and arrests of citizens who photograph or video-record them at work in public. Sgt. Miller said that during Monday afternoon’s line-up he emphasized to officers that under law citizens do have a right to use their cameras in those instances. ​“We’re trying to educate them that it’s OK,” Miller said. Limon said he has prepared a new department policy making that clear.

Cavaliere argued that the city erred in hiring out-of-state top cops. Lewis, Limon’s predecessor, also came from the Midwest (Wisconsin).

The city ​“got lucky” with Lewis, Cavaliere said. ​“He got the respect of the rank-and-file, even the people he disciplined. He had a way of speaking with people and listening to people.” In general, though, out-of-towners ​“don’t know the personalities and the community,” Cavaliere argued.

Click on the play arrow to watch public remarks Chief Limon made after the last no-confidence move fizzled. He said he understands that complaints arise when a new manager comes in determined to make changes in a department.