170 To 42 Against Chief

After five years under his leadership, the city’s rank-and-file police officers told the chief that they no longer have confidence in him.

Cops sent that message to Chief Dean Esserman in a 170 to 42 vote Thursday at police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. The results were announced just before 9 p.m.

The turnout was not as high as previous such votes; the union estimates that it has more than 350 eligible voting members and 214 cast a vote Thursday. Two votes were tossed because both ​“yes” and ​“no” were checked on the ballot.

But among the votes cast, those against the chief heavily outweighed those that expressed confidence in him.

Sgt. Dave Guliuzza, the police union’s vice president, said the turnout might have been slightly suppressed because of summer vacations and retirements, but the message from city cops is clear.

“It’s a pretty significant number in favor of no confidence,” he said.

Esserman, who was in Washington, D.C. when the vote took place, said as chief he can fight with his critics or listen. He said he wants to listen and work with them to make the department and the city a better place, but also the nation.

“There are major national policing issues currently challenging America and more evidence of that in just the last two days,” he said referencing the recent police shootings in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights, Minn. that have left two black men dead and a nation once again in turmoil. His comments were made before a protest in Dallas, Texas ended when five officers were shot and killed by a sniper.

“The New Haven Police Department and its officers have much to contribute with their professionalism and commitment to community policing. This labor dispute, during this present period of labor negotiations for a new contract, is important and I will sit down to listen and to work together toward a resolution,” he said.

Previous New Haven police chiefs, including Frank Limon and Nicholas Pastore, faced no-confidence votes during their tenure. The vote against Limon in 2011 was 246 – 21. He left town soon after. Pastore, on the other hand, held on, and eventually built support through the department and in the community.

Thursday’s vote, however, comes amid broader pressures Esserman is facing. The idea of holding the vote was supported by different factions of the police department that at other times oppose one another.

Crime has steadily dropped over the nearly five years that Esserman has served as New Haven’s police chief. The department has developed effective partnerships with state and federal law enforcement agencies to tackle gang and gun violence, and has won national accolades for its approach to community policing.

But the reasons the union cited for holding the no-confidence vote included alleged favoritism by Esserman in promotions and discipline, as well as an accumulation over years of incidents in which Esserman lost his temper and insulted, humiliated, or otherwise verbally abused or made rude comments to both high-ranking and rank-and-file cops as well as members of the public.

The best-known incident involved Esserman’s reaming out and threatening an elderly volunteer Yale Bowl usher in 2014 for not allowing him in a football game without a ticket. Mayor Toni Harp gave him a written reprimand for that incident and warned him not to repeat the behavior. Since then countless unreported incidents have occurred. One recent incident involved the chief allegedly ordering a former chief, William Farrell, out of a photo op at a ceremony honoring a fallen cop.

Harp said in a statement that the city is grateful to the police department and the service it provides. ​“Crime statistics over the past five years — and for the first half of this year — underscore a steady, across-the-board decrease in the most serious forms of urban violence and for that I’m extremely proud of everyone responsible,” she said.

But she also added that the ultimate decision on whether the chief stays or goes lies with her.

“In New Haven, the mayor is the appointing authority for the police chief, and the chief, like other administration officials, is subject to a performance evaluation each year and serves at the pleasure of the mayor,” Harp said.

Esserman said no-confidence votes are not new, and happen as part of the ​“union vs. management landscape.” He credited rank-and-file police officers for the success that the city has seen in driving down crime and restoring the trust of city residents, and he said he wants to work with his critics to continue that track record.

“Community policing is working in New Haven,” he said. ​“A very strong coalition of people and organizations working together with the police to reduce crime and save lives is working here. Our police play a crucial role and deserve great credit for our success.

“Crime, all crime, is down five years in a row. Homicides, shootings, robberies, burglaries are all down in double digits. Walking beats have returned, a remarkable PAL children’s camp has been established. And new technology is being used in patrol cars and police headquarters,” he added. ​“New Haven is growing safer, and trust and respect is growing every day between the police and citizens in every neighborhood. We’re all making it work in New Haven.”

But the officers who helped create those successes are not happy with Esserman’s leadership and Union President Craig Miller said he believes it is why so many veteran and rookie cops have left the force. He pointed to the 15 new officers who left for greener pastures last year and the five that have moved on so far this year.

“A lot of officers have left that we would have liked to keep,” he said. ​“Part of the reason for the vote is that nobody is staying more than 20 years and rookies are leaving for higher-paying jobs and better working conditions.”

Guliuzza said that in a few days’ time the union’s board will meet and decide what next steps to take. One of those next steps could be the filing of a municipal prohibited practice complaint for what the union alleged were attempts by the chief to influence the vote by intimidation.

Though Esserman was out of town Thursday, Miller said he received reports from members that an unnamed assistant chief allegedly made comments at the 3 p.m. line up that potentially influenced the vote, including comments about Esserman working with the union to get cops pay raises and better benefits.

Those things are all the subject of current contract negotiations and the union says such comments violate the agreed-upon negotiation ground rules. The union also is suspicious of the timing of a memo sent Wednesday about cutting overtime, and a subsequent memo sent Thursday about covering overtime with SAVI summer violence reduction grant money.

Esserman declined to comment on any allegations, as the complaint has not yet been filed.