Probe Question: What Did Rookie Know, & When?

No one ever told her: Your boyfriend, your baby’s dad, is dealing drugs out of your car. They just told her to stay away.

That’s the story rookie cop Najea Poindexter told internal affairs investigators.

Her former landlord told a different story: that she had specifically confronted Poindexter (pictured) and her boyfriend with allegations that he was dealing drugs. Top cops told a different story, too: that they had repeatedly warned her to stay away from him because he’d been caught in her car with drugs.

A police department ​“cooperating witness,” meanwhile, described the officer as the ​“go-to-girl on the street” to whom ​“everyone turned for information when they had committed a crime.”

Those stories are told in a 400-page report compiled by police internal affairs investigators.

The report, which the Independent obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, found that Poindexter violated Rule 15, Section 19 of the department’s rules of conduct, which prohibits employees from ​“consort[ing] with hoodlums, criminals or other unsavory characters unless such association is specifically required as a matter of police duty”; and Section 5, which prohibits employees from ​“engag[ing] in any conduct that would cause to discredit, lower or injure the morale of the Department or that of any individual of the Department.”

The report’s findings prompted Chief Dean Esserman to recommend that the Police Commission fire Poindexter. Poindexter is fighting the recommendation. The commission has begun holding hearings on the matter.

The controversy has sparked passionate debate about questions with broader implications for how a police force polices itself.

One question: At what point do an officer’s relationships cross the line from benign or useful to inappropriate?

Poindexter’s supporters point out that she has not been accused of a crime, a point borne out by the IA report. Even an anonymous ​“cooperating witness,” who had an incentive to tarnish Poindexter, admitted to investigators that he has never seen Poindexter use or deal drugs.

As one commenter argued, ​“This is ridiculous! The woman did nothing wrong. How can she be penalized for having a relationship to the father of her child? Even if the man is engaged in criminal activity, the department has no right to interfere in her personal life because they don’t like her associates.” Another argued that Poindexter’s only crime is ​“not forgetting where she came from. If the NHPD stop bringing in individuals from outside communities who do not have a clue of inner city dynamics maybe the crime rate will actually drop.”

The IA report concluded that five of Poindexter’s superiors warned her to stay away from her live-in boyfriend. The investigation also found that she had also maintained close contact with a convicted murderer and a convicted drug-dealer. They found records of 17 phone calls made to her between Dec. 1, 2014, and Jan. 17, 2015. In one of them, they reportedly discussed whether to resume their romantic relationship upon his release from prison. They reportedly also discussed Poindexter’s current IA troubles: ​“Poindexter stated some people you just can’t help being associated with,” the report states. ​“She is constantly accused of being guilty by association and is annoyed by it.”

The report, written by Sgt. Carlos Maldonado under direction of Lt. Racheal Cain, also documents an ongoing relationship with a third man convicted of drug and weapons offenses.

It turns out that this was the second IA investigation of Poindexter since she joined the police department in 2014. The first occurred while she was still in training; police caught a boyfriend in her car with marijuana. The subsequent investigation exonerated her of wrongdoing after she denied she knew of his involvement with marijuana, but it also included advice from at least five supervisors that she stay away from him. Investigators also found a series of police calls involving Poindexter before she became a cop. She was the complainant in most of the cases involving fights and broken car windows and, in one case, shots fired; she said the disputes involved fights she had with other women about her boyfriends, who had criminal records.

The new investigation concerned an incident that occurred on Jan. 17 involving a traffic stop and arrest (first reported here) of a man driving a white Honda Crossover with his lights off — and allegedly carrying large quantities of heroin and crack cocaine. The car belonged to Poindexter.

The investigation dived into a second question: What did Poindexter know about her boyfriend’s alleged drug dealing? And when?

She said she had no idea about the allegation until the the Jan. 17 arrest.

The property manager of Brewery Square apartments in Fair Haven, where Poindexter lived with her boyfriend and her baby daughter, told a different story. Following are excerpts from the IA report’s transcripts of the property manager’s, Poindexter’s, and the cooperating witness’s interview. Police commissioners received the report last week. They’ll have to decided whom to believe.

The Property Manager’s Version

Lt. Cain and Sgt. Maldonado interviewed the property manager on Jan. 22 from 12:04 to 12:24 p.m.

Maldonado: Now in your own words, could you tell Lieutenant Cain and I any dealings you may have had with one of your tenants? Ah, the name is Najea Poindexter.

Property Manager: Okay. They moved in 2012, um, it was Najea, [her boyfriend], and [their baby]. [The baby] was a hand baby at the time. She wasn’t walking or anything at that point. Um, we didn’t really have a lot of dealings with them in the beginning. She wanted to transfer, um, from a market unit to a subsidized unit. And we did that in 2013 September.

Shortly after that, we noticed we were getting complaints that their, the residents were saying that the people that moved from this unit 409 to T 218, the boyfriend is dealing drugs. And we met. I sent them a letter. We noticed a lot of activity on the camera. So I sent them a letter on 2013 October 1st, and then I set up a meeting for [them] to come in and meet with us on October 8th.

They both showed up for the meeting that day. And myself was present. [An office assistant] was present. And so was [her boyfriend] and Najea.

And we went on to explain that we’re noticing a lot of traffic, um, by him going to and from the back door, going to cars. And we’re not seeing him coming with, you know, delivery food. He’s not. We’re not seeing him going to the store and coming back, like, if he went to go and get a soda. We’re just seeing him going to cars and coming right back.

And it was beginning to become a concern, because we’re getting complaints from the residents.

Early 2014, um, I believe it was March, she came and told us that she was joining the police academy. And unfortunately at that, the traffic had gotten so frequent that we decided to call [then-Fair Haven District Manager] Sgt. [Herb] Johnson. And we had a meeting with him.

And my, my concern is that I don’t, I do not want drugs to take a hold within this property. Because we work very, very hard to maintain the property to keep it drug free, to keep it clean. And like I said to the court [inaudible], I can’t afford to let that happen here. We don’t have a lot of children on the property, but we do have some, and then the residents that work very hard, it’s not fair on them that this is going on.

The one, the most frequent complainer is, unfortunately, lives near the door. And the door is always slamming. And she has a very good view from one of the windows in her apartment. And so she kept telling us, ​“he’s dealing drugs.” And, you know, we met with Sgt. Johnson again. Um, he sent over, I have the card yesterday, he sent over some officers. And we met with them. They wanted to see the camera we showed, wanted to know where he was parking. …

Property Manager: I really didn’t start to receive any [complaints] until after he lost his job, and they moved to the second floor.

Maldonado: And when was that?

Property Manager: They moved in September 2013. They moved to the second floor…. And shortly after that is when we sent them the letter, because we were noticing a lot of traffic. Quite a bit. …

Maldonado:Now you said you had had, ah, suspicious activity. Um, could you explain a little bit more?

Property Manager: The suspicious activity. We accept packages for residents as well. And during that time he was receiving so many packages. And O said to [the office assistant], ​“I don’t understand. He’s not working. Is she paying for all this stuff that, you know, all these sneakers and all this stuff that is coming?” Because based on the box or whatever, you could tell…. Because she crying that financially she can’t afford to live in a market unit anymore, but their standard of living hasn’t changed. You know then their vehicles kept changing.

Maldonado: Okay. And he was seen on surveillance going in and out?

Property Manager: Mm-hmm.

Maldonado: Ah, frequently?

Property Manager: Very, very frequently. Too frequently. That’s what, that’s what actually got us to start asking, ​“What is really going on?” We started noticing it. And then we started getting the complaints….

Maldonado: During that meeting, ah, with, ah, Poindexter and [her boyfriend], were you specific as to your concerns?

Property Manager: Yes, because the, we pulled out their lease. And we highlight the areas in the lease that talk about illegal activities, specifically highlighted that talks about drugs. And I explained to her HUD [the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development] has a zero [tolerance] policy when it comes to drugs on their properties. And we have a HUD mortgage. And they were actually at that point living in a subsidized unit.

So I went through that whole thing with them and, again, we would ask him a question, and she would answer for him. And it got to the point where [the office assistant]‘s like, ​“Are you gonna answer all the questions for him? Can’t he answer for himself?” And she would look the entire interview, he didn’t give any eye contact. None whatsoever.

Maldonado: So was the question asked, were they selling drugs?

Property Manager: Yes.

Maldonado: On this.

Property Manager: We definitely, we directly asked him if we was dealing drugs in our building.

Maldonado: He was asked, or were they both asked?

Property Manager: We asked him, and she answered for him.

Maldonado: And her answer was?

Property Manager: She was, like, when we first started the meeting, she said she didn’t understand the notice. She didn’t understand why we said illegal activity is going on in the unit.

And we explained to her that we’re watching. One, we got complaints. And two, we’re watching his movements. And it’s too frequent to not have something illegal going on.

And we said either he’s dealing drugs, and we even went so far as to say to her that, ​“He’s always on the phone. You see him come in. He’s going out on the phone. He comes in, he’s on the phone. And it’s like, okay, they’re telling him, ​‘I’m here.’”

I said, ​“We’re not stupid. We know something is going on, and we’re getting complaints from the residents, and he’s dealing drugs.” We specifically said, ​“We believe he’s dealing drugs.” And she said, ​“I don’t under, I’m confused.” That was her exact words: ​“I’m confused.”

And [the office assistant] was standing right there. And she looked at him and said, ​“Are you dealing drugs in our building? Cause we believe you’re dealing drugs.”

And she said, ​“no.”

And [the office assistant] said, ​“Isn’t he gonna answer the question for himself? Everything we ask, you’re answering for him.”

And so [the office assistant] asked again: ​“We believe you’re dealing drugs. Are you dealing drugs in the building?” And he said no. …

Cain: And you actually said that you [had more recent] interactions with, um, Poindexter?

Property Manager: Mm-hmm.

Cain: This past Monday?

Property Manager: Monday [Jan.] 19th.

Cain: Could you tell me what that was?

“Can I Talk To You?”

Property Manager: Um, it was a little after 9. Ah, she came in with a young man. And she came in and she went upstairs. She came right back down, and she said, um, ​“Can I talk to you?” I said, ​“sure.”

She was standing right at the desk there: ​“I have to move. And I have no choice. But I have to move.”

And I said, ​“What do you mean by that?”

And she said to me, “[Her boyfriend] got caught on Saturday night in my car with drugs.”

So I said, I started asking her questions like, well, ​“Where was [the baby]?” I started asking her all of these questions. I said, ​“I warned you. We met with you guys, and we told you that we believe this was going on. And I don’t understand how you’re now telling me you were completely unaware.”

And she said that, ​“I should have listened. I should have listened. Now I’m looking like Boo Boo the Fool. And now I have to move out. I’m 26. I have to move back in with my mother. And [the baby], um, won’t have her own space. She has her own room now, but she won’t, you know. My mother will give us a room, but she won’t have her own room.”

And she went on to talk about she doesn’t know if they’ll let her stay on the police force because it was her car. His car’s also registered in her name. Um, that she’s in the process of taking his, her, his out of her name, taking him off the insurance. And she’s gonna go and move some clothes out on Monday, and she’s gonna move the rest of her things out on Tuesday.

Um, she said, ​“I’m sorry, but I have no choice but I have to move.” I said to her, I said, ​“Well, I see him all the time with [the baby].” I said, ​“How do you know he wasn’t delivering drugs with [the baby] in the car? How do you know he doesn’t have the drugs in the apartment? What if [the baby] had gotten a hold of the drugs?”

You, and then she started telling me that he had moved out. She doesn’t know, we, um, if [her boyfriend] had moved out, and he was working um, in a store in West Haven.

“But you never reported he was working anyway, cause you were required to.”

Um, and it was then she started crying. I gave her some Kleenex. She sat down. And she went into, her whole career is on the line now. She doesn’t know what’s gonna happen.

And I said, ​“Well, where’s [her boyfriend] right now?”

“He’s upstairs.”

I said, ​“In the apartment? He’s upstairs?”

She said, ​“yeah.” She said, ​“Well, you know, [the baby] and I have got to leave. I don’t know what that means for him.”

I said, ​“Well, if he was caught dealing drugs, he can’t stay either.”

I said, ​“And you have to give us notice.”

“Um, okay, I“m gonna go up and write the notice.” She never gave us any notice. In her lease she’s required to give us 30-day notice. So she’s on the hook till the end of February anyway.

Um, she said, ​“I didn’t want to come and tell you anything. I didn’t want to come and talk about it right now. Cause I know that I was gonna cry.”

And she, after I spoke with her, she went up with the young man. And then she came down and asked me if she can borrow the cart that we have.

Officer Poindexter’s Version

Lt. Racheal Cain and Sgt. Carlos Maldonado interviewed Poindexter on Jan. 26 from 1:15 to 1:21 p.m., then 1:35 to 1:45 p.m., with union President Louis Cavaliere and Attorney Marshall Segar present.

Maldonado: Okay. Now who was it that you met with in the police academy regarding, ah, [her boyfriend]?

Poindexter: The first day, are you, the first that they confronted me about it sir, are you, cause I spoke to a lot of people in the academy in regards to it.

Maldonado: Okay, so who was the first?

Poindexter: Um, I got pulled out by, um, um, I believe it was Sergeant Maturo and Officer Salgado, and Officer Strickland, and when we spoke in the room, I believe Officer Strickland stepped out, and it was just Officer Salgado, and Sergeant Maturo, If I’m not mistaken.

Maldonado: Okay, and what was that meeting in regards to?

Poindexter: Um, it was in regards to a motor vehicle stop, um, the weekend prior, ah, I believe that it was a Saturday, um, involving [her boyfriend] and my personal vehicle.

Maldonado: Okay, could you be more specific as to what was discussed?

Poindexter: So he, they originally asked me what, um, something like, ah, um, was I right in not telling them about any police interaction, and then I explained to them that I wasn’t involved in any police interaction, and then they asked me did I own, ah, um, what kind of vehicle I owned. And I explained to them.

And then they said, well, what happened to your vehicle. And then I told them that [her boyfriend] was driving my vehicle and, um, he was stopped, a motor vehicle stop, for not having his seat belt, and then they asked me was that it. And that’s all I knew at the time, that he was stopped for a seat belt. And then they asked me if I’m not mistaken. How did I know? And I informed them that the next day when I went to go get in my vehicle, I noticed my daughter car seat was, like flipped over. And that the mats in the back seat was like out of place, so I had asked [her boyfriend] what actually occurred. Like who was in my car.

And ah, he said that he was stopped, um, and that for not having his seat belt, and they asked for consent to search for weapons. He gave consent, and they didn’t find anything, and that was all I knew. And then they informed me that that was not the extent of the stop.

Maldonado: So he told you he received a ticket?

Poindexter: No, he never told me he received a ticket. He said they let him go, ​‘cause he cooperated. He let them search. But he never told me that, um, he received a ticket. I didn’t know that he received a ticket until I was confronted in the academy about it.

Maldonado: Okay. Did anyone else from the New Haven police department approach you and speak to you regarding [her boyfriend]?

Poindexter: Um, as I said in the academy I spoke to a lot of people in regards to that incident, if I’m not mistaken, just about everybody with the exception of, um, maybe Sergeant Hoyte. But I spoke to, um, Chief Reddish in regards to it, Lieutenant Joyner, Sergeant Maturo, Officer Strickland, Officer Salgado, and Officer Dobson.

Maldonado: Your conversation with, ah, then Assistant Chief Reddish, what was that conversation about?

“I Didn’t Know”

Poindexter: Well it, he was saying that, um, that I needed to be careful, um, with [her boyfriend].

And he was saying that, um, he was somebody who would throw my name under the, like, the bus, because he mentioned that I was in the academy. It’s not someone that has my best interest. Like if he got caught with something, he should never put my name in the middle of it or whatever the case may be.

And then I had told him that I didn’t know anything about [her boyfriend], like this is the first thing, and I explained to him that from my knowledge [her boyfriend] never drinked or smoked. And he said to me, and I told him, that when I met [her boyfriend] he was working. He always worked. And he had made a reference that, um, when he asked me where he worked at, I told him the hospital. He was working at Yale-New Haven Hospital. [Chief Reddish] had made reference to, like, ​“That like a cover for drug, um, dealers.’”

But to me, [her boyfriend] never, I mean, I didn’t know that [her boyfriend] was into anything. And my understanding, what was found that night, I didn’t know that he was like packaged or anything. I thought he, Chief Reddish told me that he said it was for sale. I mean for to smoke, not for sale. So and Chief Reddish also made inference that he said that we smoked, and I told him that I had smoked in the past and I haven’t smoked in years, and I also said that I would, um, take a drug test for it. And then they also searched my vehicle and they didn’t find anything. Sergeant Maturo said it didn’t smell like weed. They didn’t find any shavings or butts that insinuated that that type of stuff was going in my vehicle.

Maldonado: So just so I’m clear, you said someone mentioned that it was for personal use, not for sale?

Poindexter: I never, this is the first time that I’m hearing that it was for sale. I thought it was for personal use. That was my understanding. ​‘Cause they questioned whether I smoked it as well….

Cain: Okay. At any point in time while, um, as a recruit, as a, um, officer, did you have a conversation with anybody other than Assistant Chief Reddish and, ah, the two officers that you mentioned?

Poindexter: Um, I also talked to Lieutenant Joyner.

Cain: Okay, and what was that conversation?

Poindexter: Um, under the same. He wasn’t there the first day. But he was explaining to me that they could not tell me what to do or who to associate with per se, because he does know that I have a child in common. But that I did need to, um, look out for myself and be selfish and make sure that I’m making [sure] that he’s a decent person to have around me and my kid. But he never, like, told me that I couldn’t talk to him, or he was more just, so, just what I thought was like more of a, like, giving me fatherly advice, I think. He wasn’t like, he told me not to do this or accuse [her boyfriend] of anything. He just was talking to me in general and about the profession and how you know, like, we all know some people and how we have to make adjustments with the career.

Cain: Did any of these officers warn you that this type of interaction was not a good idea if you were pursuing a career in police?

Poindexter: Well, I was more so, so, if he was doing something, but nobody ever said, ​‘This is what he’s doing, and if you continue to interact with him and he continues to do this.” It, it wasn’t, wasn’t like that at all. They did say that, you know, ​“You don’t want to be that officer in the newspaper for having those type of interactions.” But they never gave me facts or specifically said that [her boyfriend] was into anything. To me I took it as, like they were giving me life advice, because this did happen, and as I said, I was under the impression he was just, he said he was using. He said they never said they, he was like selling or anything. And he’s my child’s father.

Cain: Okay. So at, during this meeting, multiple meetings with officers on the New Haven department, they told you that he was at least in possession of drugs?

Poindexter: Yes, they did tell me that, that he was in possession, and that they gave him an infraction for it, though.

Cain: Okay, as a recruit, did any other recruit suggest that you, um, leave [her boyfriend]?

Poindexter: Ah, we had the conversation in the locker room amongst me and two other females. And they said the same thing. Like, they know that they could tell that because I was, like, crying and upset, that I did love him. And that it was gonna be hard. That’s my child’s father. And that like from what they knew, I would do what’s best. And if I felt that I or [my child] was in danger, I would make that decision when necessary. But they told me the same thing. Like, that’s my child’s father. ​“You want him a part of your life.” And so I didn’t think anything of it. Then they didn’t really give me advice and tell me to leave him completely at all. And those are the only two recruits that I talked about on duty with it at the academy.

The Cooperating Witness’s Version

Lt. Cain and Sgt. Maldonado (pictured) conducted the interview from on Jan. 23 from 4:12 to 4:32 p.m.

C.W.: [K]nowing [Poindexter] throughout the years she always dealt with street individuals, mainly drug dealers and people that promote violence. Um, when I first met her, I don’t know if this is relevant or not she was dealing with a individual that’s currently incarcerated for murder, but he’s, his case is being over turned, and he’s going back to court for the murder case that he’s incarcerated for at the time.

Maldonado: You said she was dealing with him?

C.W.: It was her boyfriend before [her current boyfriend].

Maldonado: Okay. And he’s in jail for what reason?

C.W.: Murder.

Maldonado: Was he also involved in the drug trade?

C.W.: Yes.

Maldonado: Do you know if she was aware of that?

C.W.: Yes.

Maldonado: And how is that?

C.W.: It was public knowledge. Everyone knew it.

Maldonado: Have you ever seen her engaging in any activity regarding the drug trade?

C.W.: As far as selling? I mean like I said she always knew, she always dealt with street guys, always dealt with street individuals. Um, till this day I know that her and another individual that’s also incarcerated for a murder are real good friends. .…

Cain: Okay, and when you said that, um, she deals with a lot of people who are known to be drug dealers — has she even been told in your presence about criminal activity that these people were partaking in?

C.W.: Yeah. Because it always happen, I mean, like rather it was like us smoking marijuana around, around them or, you know, drug dealers buying them drinks and stuff at the bar, to that nature.

Cain: Okay.

C.W..: That always took place.

Cain: So was she ever present while any group was doing illegal drugs?

C.W.: Yes.

Cain: And about how long ago was that?

C.W.: Probably within the last few years….

Maldonado: Just one question off of that. Did you ever see her partake in any use of drugs?

C.W.: No, I never, I know that she drinks but I never seen her, um, I never, I can never say that I seen her smoke marijuana. I do know that she drinks alcohol. I’m not gonna say that she drinks it more than appropriate, but yes I have seen her drink alcohol. Um, I don’t know if you guys are familiar with, um, a lady named [who] is like a big drug dealer in the West Hills area and that was a good friend of hers as well. Um, she all I noticed today, early this morning, she had a kind of, ah, a little Twitter conversation with a person that in the halfway house. And he just came home from dealing drugs, so like I said, she, she still in contact with people that deals with the drug trade…

Maldonado: Is there anything else you would like to add that can help us in this investigation?

C.W.: Like I said, um, I know for a fact that she knows and deals and dealt with people from that side of the law. And do I think that she was helping him sell drugs? I doubt it, because, I mean, I heard her on her, well, seen her on her Twitter page trying to be on the up and up, as far as bettering herself, as far as her education goes. Like, you know, so I don’t know how that works out or whatever. Like I said, again, growing up in the New Haven area, being around certain people you know, of course she knows about, of course she knows about drug dealings and shootings and things of that nature. The kid that’s incarcerated, that she used to deal with, did a lot of stuff, you know, over the years, like a lot of stuff, so it would be shocking if she didn’t know the things that he took place in, because the streets knew. Everybody knew. So it was no secret to anybody, like, you know, the girl that I spoke of, she never had a job. She’s just a straight drug dealer…. She’s currently incarcerated in the federal system right now…

Previous coverage of this case:

• Cop’s Connection To Drug Arrest Sparks IA Probe
• Cop Was Warned About Companion’s Dealing
• Esserman Moves To Fire Rookie Cop